


For Your Pleasure

by grayclouds



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Arranged Marriage, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff and Smut, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Nobility, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-04-09 16:53:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 37,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4356959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grayclouds/pseuds/grayclouds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are much worse things than walking in on your servant whom you've been in love with ever since childhood fucking another man--namely, being forced to marry that same man to save all three of you from irreparable scandal. Luffy comes up with a novel solution for this love triangle, however: why not make it a threesome instead?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Valet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Auroralunatica](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auroralunatica/gifts).



> dedicated to a very talented friend who's been feeling a bit down, so i hope this cheers them up. 
> 
> massive ZoLaw nsfw at the end of this first chapter, since thats kind of a rarepair i figured id warn if its not your cup of tea. also disclaimer: don't actually raw your fuckbuddies, dudes. zoro can take it bc he's an anime character. would not recommend it in real life.

Luffy’s hair has always been unmanageable.

The little snips from Zoro’s shears do little to improve the situation, try as he might; he isn’t cut out for this line of work. The young Prince won’t let anyone else near his hair, however, so Zoro has little choice. The reason for this is a small tale with little relevance to the grand scheme of things, except perhaps as proof of the Prince’s stubbornness—and his undeniable fondness of his childhood friend.

Two years ago, after Luffy’s first caretaker, Dadan, retired to the countryside, he was appointed a new personal detail consisting of three maids and two servants by his grandfather. Luffy, upset that he hadn’t even been given a choice in the matter, rebelled immediately by avoiding the scissors for a whole year straight, refusing to let strangers dictate his appearance.

In the end his hair ended up reaching nearly to his waist until the King finally caved and allowed him to choose his own valet, Luffy’s choice (naturally) falling on Zoro without hesitation.

It probably wasn’t the wisest choice; the young guard, having no prior experience in handling hair, ended up shaving his Prince’s head near-bald.

Luffy wore his coiffed disaster with pride, however, no doubt scaring off any potential future suitors in the two months it took to grow it back, and even grinning whenever someone was brave enough to comment on it.

“I think it looks great,” he’d say. “Zoro was the one who cut it for me, after all!”

Now, however, his hair reflects his nature; unruly, wild and very simple. The look of a youthful young man outgrowing his childishness at last. He looks quite different from two years ago—he’s taller, his shoulders are a bit broader, his jawline a bit sharper, but whenever he grins the boyishness always returns to his face.

“Do I look alright?” Luffy questions, staring into the mirror as Zoro stands behind him, too busy with brushing the almost untameable locks with a comb to give a meaningful response. They reach just about down to his earlobes, which is a bit longer than he used to wear it, but not enough to irk his grandfather.

“You look fine, my lord.”

When Zoro glances up, he spots his Prince’s pout in the mirror’s reflection. “Stop calling me that, you never did before.”

The bodyguard-turned-valet (though that’s not entirely accurate, as he is _still_ a bodyguard first and foremost, all things considered) sighs as he puts the brush away. “We’ve never been in a foreign palace before, my lord. You do want to leave a good first impression, don’t you? That means I have to address you by your title, and it also means no stealing food off of other people’s plates, for the record. We’d cause a scandal if we didn’t do at least _that_ much.”

He is exaggerating, of course, but that much is necessary to keep someone as reckless as Luffy in line. He only ever responds to strong language—anything wishy-washy he walks right over.

In actuality, marriage is a mere option for Luffy; his older brother, Prince Ace, is the one who will ascend to the throne once he finds a suitable bride, which the young man is trying to stall as much as possible. He is expected to do as much, as is his duty to the kingdom. Luffy has a choice, on the other hand; varying from bride, to groom, to none at all. His future children aren’t the ones directly in line, after all, even though his grandfather would prefer he produced heirs as a potential fail-safe. It’s not a necessity.  

The main reason they are in the kingdom of Dressrosa at all is a mere formality—its King, an illustrious figure called Doflamingo, extended an invitation to attend Princess Rebecca’s upcoming birthday, and unless they wanted to appear unbearably rude, there was no reason for them to reject it outright. Besides which, Luffy is rather fond of parties; at the mere mention of a festive gathering, he had already made up his mind to attend it, if only for the food alone.

So they find themselves here, in this richly decorated guest room with its deep red and burgundy colour scheme, preparing for the presentation of the gifts.

“Do I _have_ to go?” Luffy complains, and even though he is well into his majority by now (twenty-one years is nothing to sneeze at) he often still acts like a child.

“No, let’s just stay here, cooped up in the room for the entirety of the evening,” Zoro replies with a full dose of sarcasm as he makes Luffy turn around to double-check he has buttoned and buckled himself up properly—not that he’s particularly incompetent in robing himself, but the layers upon layers of formal clothing (all in reds and yellows and oranges, of course) aren’t his favourite thing in the world, and he tends to neglect it.

During the New Year’s Ball just a few months ago, for example, he’d become so frustrated with all the belts on his outfit that he’d given up on them entirely and marched outside into the dining hall, only for his pants to suddenly drop down to his knees in full view of all the guests.

Prince Ace had thought it a prank bordering on accidental brilliance, but King Garp was less amused. _Considerably_ less amused. Zoro endured an hour-long fit of shouting, considering he was Luffy’s valet and should’ve paid better attention to his wardrobe.

Suffice to say that kind of mistake would spell disaster if made in a foreign kingdom, and this time they can’t afford mistakes. This will be the Prince’s first solo venture into the social circles of international royalty, after all—it’s paramount to make a good first impression. Gossip never travels faster than it does with bored nobility; if Luffy is disgraced in some manner, not only would that hurt his chances of ever finding a match, it would be on Zoro’s head.

He can’t imagine his family would be pleased with that. Besides which, Prince Luffy of Foosha is not only his responsibility and his employer (or the son of his employer, depending on how you look at it), but also his best friend, and he’s not about to fail him now.

Zoro himself was born Sir Roronoa Zoro, son of a cadet branch of an insignificant noble house. To his misfortune, he was also born the second child, and as such, what little wealth and prestige remained in their line was settled upon his sister, Kuina. There was simply not enough to divide between them.

Thus he was raised to be his sister’s shadow, her replacement in case of a disaster, and to have nothing of his own. He was taught to be silent and supportive and never to disgrace his family by displaying his own desires, always acting with honor and dignity.

If he had learned his lessons well enough, he might be there still. Instead, his greatest mistake became his only opportunity.

Zoro was in the first rush of adolescence at the time, enjoying the freedom to run with longer legs. His family was attending court, making conversation with people far too important for the presence of a child who was heir to nothing. He was ordered to stay in his room, unseen and unheard, and wait patiently for their return.

But he wanted a mid-afternoon snack, and he quickly grew tired of waiting. He came up with a plan that involved leading his caretaker on a false trail while he stole the keys from a careless steward and wriggled his way into the palace cellars.

There he discovered he was not the first child to mount an expedition for food. A small boy, his face streaked with tears,  had managed to trap his hand between the planks of an old crate. It fell to Zoro to calm him down and work out a plan to get him free unharmed and both of them out of there without being caught.

Of course, he had no idea that little boy was a Prince at the time. Their escape route led them straight into the path of his grandfather’s frantic searching.

Even then, Zoro tried to protect him—initially, besting two guards with a mere toy sword he’d found Luffy with, and later, when confronted with the King, trying to take all the blame for himself.

His mother was horrified at what he’d done. She would have had him whipped and confined to his room on bread and water for a week. The King of Foosha saw things differently—saw in him someone who could keep up with his son’s mischief and get him out of trouble safely.

So, he received a royal appointment as personal guard (and later, valet) of the young Prince Luffy—his companion, his servant, his advisor and his agent. For the first time in his life, he had a place that belonged to him. Zoro has trained, studied and fought for Luffy, and if necessary, would give his life for the Prince without hesitation. Failure in this regard is not an option.

“How long is it supposed to last, anyway?”

“As long as it has to,” Zoro replies simply, satisfied with his Prince’s wardrobe and relieved the annoying little task is over with. A maidservant would be suited so much better to dressing Luffy, but the stubborn brat refuses whenever Zoro brings up the topic.

“But you are coming, right?” Luffy presses, clearly unhappy about having to go through all these little rituals when his main purpose for coming here was for the buffet.

“I’m allowed to be at the presentation, just not the ball.”

“What? Why?”

Zoro snorts. “I’m just a valet, remember? I wouldn’t want to attend even if I was allowed, anyway.” A gathering of all the snobbiest, most pompous and superficial people in the kingdom? He’d rather pass. They’ll smile with one face and spit venom in your eye with another. He has no interest in it.

Though he does lament about all the booze he’ll be missing out on.

“ _Fine_ ,” Luffy sighs with exaggerated disappointment, knowing there’s no way to sneak Zoro in. Even if the security within the castle hadn’t been so severe, his valet would never do anything to risk besmirching his or his family’s name and honour. “Let’s go, then! I want to get this over with as soon as possible.”

His Prince strides towards the door with purpose, where he pauses and looks over his shoulder at him, waiting for him to follow.

Zoro bows with a mocking little smile. “As you wish, my lord.”

And he follows, like he always does.

* * *

The Presentation Hall of the Kingdom of Dressrosa is not so much larger than that of Foosha, but the decorations seem more ornate, the jewels more lustrous, the architecture grander—purples and pinks blare into his eyes almost painfully. Perhaps, Zoro thinks, it’s the dazzle of unfamiliarity. Or perhaps the royals of Dressrosa are simply more ostentatious.

He’s willing to bet it’s the latter.

Only three foreign princes are present for these festivities. According to court gossip, five were invited, but one politely declined and the other—somewhat less politely—refused to attend any event which involved Prince Cavendish. Interesting if you’re into politics; not so much if you’re Zoro, whose only interest has always been his blades, and his Prince.

In any case, intimate noble affairs aside, the central focus of this event is the Princess herself.

A steward standing near the large, marble stairs clears his throat, a moment later announcing, “Her Royal Highness, the Princess Rebecca!”

She walks into the room with poise, her head held high, then hesitates, looking rapidly back and forth over the assembled men before continuing to her assigned position in front of the stairs, her fuchsia gown with its frills and fitting jewels accentuating the appearance of pure innocence. She cannot acknowledge anyone here until they have been formally announced, of course, but no one could blame her for indulging in a moment’s curiosity.

Dressrosa’s Princess has been famously kept in a cloistered existence until now, the sole remnant of the previous royal family that ruled here before they were assassinated by—it was _presumed_ —an enemy country during the war eighteen years ago. The then-Archduke, Donquixote Doflamingo, renowned “saviour” of Dressrosa, was urged by the people to take the throne and take command of the armies that had fallen into disarray after the loss of its Supreme Commander, the late King Riku. In all his generosity, he allowed the Princess who had miraculously survived the assassination unscathed to retain her title.

Of course, anyone with the most basic bit of knowledge on Dressrosa’s royal affairs suspected the real mastermind behind it all was Doflamingo himself, as he’d had a longstanding disagreement with King Riku about the way he governed his kingdom, but those rumours were all but forgotten after he led Dressrosa to victory—and, years later, prosperity.

But all of that matters little for the men gathered here in celebration of Princess Rebecca’s anniversary. She has only the barest blush of eighteen years, younger even than Luffy, appearing delicate and even a bit uncertain when thrust into the attention of foreign nobility, but admirably retains a kind smile on her lips.

Finally, the guests can now be announced.

The first Prince, Bartolomeo, can’t be called any sort of competition. Zoro watches attentively as the man crosses the hall with brisk strides, though Luffy has hardly anything to worry about with this mess of a Prince whose hair is nothing short of a disaster, clothes in disorder as if he hurried to put them on and gave up halfway through—his exposed chest isn’t exactly appropriate, and as the Princess glances down at it, the slight flush on her cheeks deepens.

He’s polite—enthusiastic, rather, and he offers her a bottle of faceted dark glass, capped with gold, which she takes with interest. Perfume, eh? Zoro barely holds back a scoff. Very standard, and boring. Then again, this Princess might just be the type for it.

Prince Bartolomeo bows his head, and then steps away for the next presentation.

The man that steps forward now—Prince Cavendish—is certainly _prettier_ than the previous one. He is a slender, sharp-featured man attired in a glittering wardrobe, his blond curls as gleaming as the buckles on his shoes and every conceivable place in-between.

He walks with a defined elegance that was lacking in Prince Bartolomeo, though Zoro can’t help but dislike the man on sight, perhaps because of how his whole appearance seems so generic for a Prince. After bowing and addressing the Princess with a standard congratulations on her upcoming anniversary, he snaps his fingers, and a servant rushes forward to present the Princess with bundles of white and blue silk.  

She is polite, but not nearly as curious as she was when presented with the perfume as she gestures for a servant to accept the bundles of fine cloth for her.

Prince Cavendish bows a second time, then steps backward before retreating swiftly.

Hm. She didn’t seem to have much of a reaction to the silk. More a fan of the shiny things, then? If that’s the case, Luffy’s got this in the bag, regardless of his atrocious manners— _if_ he doesn’t somehow manage to screw it up at the last second.

Zoro takes a deep breath and starts his mantra of prayers as the steward announces his Prince.

“His Royal Highness, the Prince Luffy!”

He may not be the most elegant man in the room—and that’s an understatement—but Luffy is a Prince nonetheless. He walks with decided confidence, then presses his hand to his chest and bows with one foot respectfully sliding back.

“Your Highness,” he starts slowly, and Zoro prays furiously to whatever gods will listen that the kid remembers his lines, “I thank you for granting me the opportunity to meet you and convey my good wishes in person.”

Oh thank god. _Thank god_. It came out a bit forced, and awkward, and slow, and Princess Rebecca seems unaffected entirely, but he remembered, and that’s all that matters.

And then Luffy perks up with a grin, and says, “I brought you a flower! Thing. A mysterious flower thing. You put it in your hair, or something—at least, I think that’s what you do with it. It looked pretty so I thought you’d like it!”  

Zoro's eyes grow in horror and sheer mortification as Luffy rambles on. _Please, for all that is holy, STOP TALKING_. He knew it was too good to be true, damn it!

Princess Rebecca, however, while appearing startled at first, giggles at the Prince’s antics, and Zoro relaxes with a wave of intense relief. Good. She finds him endearing. That’s good. The Prince’s reputation is still intact.

Luffy now holds up the blue velvet presentation box containing a brooch in the shape of a rose, its petals encrusted with jewels.

She seems very pleased with it, if the bright smile on her face is any indication. “It’s lovely! Thank you.”

Luffy’s answering grin is equally sincere. With a parting bow, he backs away, and thus the presentation of the three Princes is concluded.

Zoro’s shoulders sag in relief. For a moment, he was certain they were headed for disaster, but for some unfathomable reason the Princess was entertained by Luffy’s eccentricity rather than bewildered.

The servant beside Rebecca rings a silver hand bell. At that delicate tone, the Princess clasps her hands together and smiles at them all. “I bid you all welcome to Dressrosa. Thank you for all your generous gifts, and may your visits be filled with joy.” With those words, she withdraws from their company.

“Formal dinner will begin in one hour. At your convenience, please assemble in the drawing room for appetizers,” the steward announces, before retreating also. That invitation is extended to the assembled dignitaries, of course, and does not include attendants such as Zoro. They will feed upon the leftovers of the feast while said dignitaries and the local nobility are at the ball.

He has no true desire to attend anyway, as he told his Prince earlier. Glittering costumes and skilled musicians create a wonderful atmosphere—not to mention the drinks are of a much higher quality than he’d usually find—but the need to maintain a perfect appearance for hours while socialising sound like a complete drag. Luffy always complains about it, in any case.

As the gathering dissolves, his Prince touches on Zoro’s arm and pulls him aside.

“You think she liked me?” he asks, not nervous—never nervous—but more so curious.

“Yeah, for _some_ reason, I think she did,” Zoro replies with a shrug, which has Luffy nodding happily at first, before he pauses as he lets the words sink in and then bristles indignantly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Merely that a jester probably would’ve made a more dignified impression than you just did,” Zoro elaborates wryly, adding, “my lord,” as an afterthought, and Luffy scowls at him petulantly.

“Well, I made her smile, didn’t I? Don’t I get points for that?”

Zoro shrugs again, a bit more apathetically this time, disinclined to encourage him. Whether he did or didn’t make a good impression, it hardly matters—it’s doubtful that any of the three Princes visiting here will wed her any time soon. The Princess is still young and will likely look at many more suitors before coming to a decision. For Prince Luffy, this ought to be nothing more than a test.

Of course, that doesn’t prevent him from giving his all and striving for success, which is true in every other thing he does. Usually this mentality doesn’t bother Zoro, but this time he feels ill at ease for a reason he’d rather not linger on.

“You should get going,” he says, noticing the other Princes are already leaving to prepare for dinner. “Try not to devour all the food in the castle.”

Luffy sighs. “Alright, alright, I’m going!” Covertly sticking out his tongue to him, he turns away and walks towards the drawing room, Zoro watching him go for a moment before heading back towards their quarters, alone.

* * *

The cosy fireplace and the bottle of fine wine does little to lift his mood as he gazes into the crackling flames, seated on the carpet right in front of it, his thoughts—as always—with his Prince.

Dinner should be over by now. Zoro takes a last, large swig from his bottle before setting it aside and lying back on the floor, glaring up at the ceiling.

He thought he was past this. He thought he was trained enough to be able to handle this without letting his personal feelings get in the way. He thought he was _ready_ for this.

Zoro’s ultimate mission is simple—get Luffy a bride or groom who will allow him to rule their ancestral lands with them. While at the moment, there’s no pressure for Luffy to marry, he can’t remain in Foosha’s Castle as a bachelor Prince forever, and Zoro knows that’s not what he wants either. Still, once he _does_ get married, he will have no need for Zoro anymore beyond a bodyguard.

Knowing Luffy, he’ll probably grant Zoro some sort of rank within the Royal Army , but days such as these, where the swordsman mocks the Prince affectionately while brushing his hair, will be over. His dear friend will be a King, and he’ll be a General who used to know him.

The thought is disquieting to say the least; if he had his way, he’d remain by Luffy’s side forever. The Prince’s presence is like the sun—Zoro’s whole life revolves around Luffy’s—and any notion of being separated from him leaves an empty, cold feeling in his chest.

Of course he has no choice in the matter. Born in such a small and low-ranking noble house as he is, if Luffy were to release him from service, he would have no power nor influence to justify associating with a King. Even now, the intimacy of their friendship is kept under wraps as it would be frowned upon by outsiders. Luffy is a Prince, after all—the son of a king. He’s been raised in luxury and trained to govern and inspire. Zoro, conversely, is a servant with no land, no fortune, no inheritance at all. What claim does he have on Luffy’s companionship?

It’s absurd for him to worry about such a distant future, however. Luffy won’t be married in at least several more years, and until then, Zoro is determined on fully enjoying whatever time they have left together.

“Why do I care so much, anyway?” he mumbles to himself, putting his hands underneath his head as he studies the little cracks in the otherwise elegant ceiling pattern. They are very close friends, the best of friends, true, but nothing more than that. Why is he despairing over some far-off prospect like a worried lover?

The word makes him pause. _Lover_. Scowling at the ceiling and suddenly feeling very restless, he turns on his side and squeezes his eyes shut, as if hoping to chase away the ridiculous thought that’s making something flutter in the pit of his stomach.

He shouldn’t waste his time even entertaining the mere notion of it, and he snorts at himself, mocking his own foolish fantasy. The fact that he enjoys Luffy’s utmost trust and camaraderie is nothing short of an honour; it _should_ be enough to please him, and yet he still can’t help but want more—in spite of all the lessons of selflessness his parents attempted to teach him, it appears he’s still as greedy a man ever.

But who can blame him? He has spent a majority of his life by the Prince’s side, after all. Luffy is at times reckless and idiotic, yes, but he has the heart of a star. Always optimistic, always dreaming, determined like no one he has ever met before, and sometimes Zoro can’t help but imagine—

 _No_. Luffy is a Prince, he’s allowed to be a dreamer. The same does not go for Zoro.

He’ll simply have to accept the fact that they’re destined to be apart.

“Damn it all!” The bottle of wine beside him goes flying across the room, shattering against the wall, glass scattering everywhere as Zoro sits up, done sulking and feeling sorry for himself. His anger is directionless—there’s no one person to blame for this. Perhaps society itself is a good candidate; if heritage meant nothing, if ranks and noble blood was inconsequential, maybe… maybe they could’ve had a future together.

No point fuming over it now and wasting his energy, though.

Just as he decides to get up and find something to distract himself with, there’s a knock on his door and Zoro eyes it irritably before approaching and opening it, only to find a girl there—a page, most likely—with bright orange hair and big brown eyes.

“You’ve been summoned to the Upper Servants dinner, sir. I’ll escort you,” she speaks delicately. Probably born to a lesser noble house, from the way she carries herself. If King Garp himself had not noticed Zoro, he’d probably would’ve ended up with a similar fate, or more likely, in the army.

“I can find my own way,” Zoro dismisses her easily, before pausing. “Can you send a servant to clean up some mess in my quarters?”

“Of course,” the girl speaks with a friendly smile, though Zoro has seen enough of those to spot a fake one any time of the day. “But, as it is my duty, I’m afraid I will have to accompany you nonetheless, sir.”

Zoro narrows his eyes at her as she curtseys briefly and excuses herself for a moment before walking off to find a servant, returning a moment later, that damned smile still on her face.

He says nothing and abruptly takes off towards where he _thinks_ the dining hall for servants might be.

“Ah, sir,” the girl calls after him. “That’s the wrong way.”

He hisses a swear underneath his breath and promptly starts walking back towards her, in the opposite direction.

“That’s still the wrong way, sir.”

“I know where I’m going, woman!” he snaps eventually, but she appears unperturbed.

“With all due respect, it doesn’t seem to appear that way to _me_ , sir,” the girl replies coyly—her derision plain to see in her eyes. Zoro crosses his arms, levelling her with a cool stare. 

“What’s your name?”

The girl curtseys once more. “Nami, sir.”

“Alright, _Nami_ ,” he replies slowly, spitting out her name as if it’s acid on his tongue. “Show me the way.”

She simply smiles and starts walking, slipping into a corridor on their left as he trails behind her, following slowly.

“Enjoying the festivities so far, sir?” she asks on the way to the hall, though she doesn’t sound too eager to make small talk. Zoro merely makes a non-committal grunt in response, disinterested in meaningless chatter. “It would do you well to mind yourself during supper, sir. The Duke’s men are difficult to please, and all too eager to complain.”

“The Duke’s men?” Zoro responds, curiosity piqued.

“Why, yes,” Nami glances at him over her shoulder, appearing surprised at his lack of awareness. “Duke Trafalgar himself is in attendance at the ball right now, in fact. You’ve heard the rumours about _him_ , have you not?”

At Zoro’s begrudging silence, she appears a bit miffed, but starts explaining nonetheless. “As you know, while Princess Rebecca was allowed to retain her title, she is not the heir any longer. The Duke is next in line for the throne, as long as King Doflamingo remains without offspring. Usually it would be the Archduke first, but in this case, Archduke Rosinante refused succession—he is a bit unconventional that way, I suppose.

“The Duke himself is a… hmm, let’s say, _curious_ figure. He has studied anatomy and alchemy extensively, and is well-known for having a rather cruel disposition. There are many rumours of him kidnapping people from their villages and cutting them open for sport, keeping their hearts as trophies, though he is well-liked by the King,” Nami grimaces briefly, but then shakes it off and concludes her story. “In any case,  those are merely the rumours, but he is certainly someone to keep an eye on. If nothing changes, the Duke will be the future King of Dressrosa.”

Ah. Well, that certainly makes this night more interesting. Suddenly gaining Princess Rebecca’s affections seems like a very low point of priority on their list—if Zoro can convince Luffy to make a friend out of this Trafalgar guy, that’ll be a potentially _very_ powerful ally gained in the future.

“How do I get a look at this Duke?” he inquires rather bluntly, which seems to take Nami by surprise, though she smooths out her composure a second later.

“The easiest way is through the servants’ door in the second morning hall. You turn left and go up a half-stair to the viewing passage,” she explains, then smiles, this time openly mocking. “Though I suspect you’ll end up getting lost anyway.”

“You—“

“Ah, look! We’ve arrived!” Before Zoro can yell at her and fervently deny the claim, she stops in front of a door and opens it for him. He sends her one last glare before entering the dining hall, discovering he is the last servant to do so.

And so he joins others of his rank, the confidants and supporters of the noble elite. It’s not difficult to identify the footmen of Duke Trafalgar. Despite their position, they are a mismatched pair in clothing so plain that it barely merits the title of uniform. They talk loudly amongst themselves, mostly ignoring all the others during most of the dinner.

Zoro keeps to himself in large part as well, answering questions whenever those are given to him, but not making an effort to keep a conversation going. He’s more interested in finishing his meal as soon as possible so he can finally get to that passageway Nami mentioned earlier. While catching a glimpse of this Duke Trafalgar would be nice, guarding Luffy from hidden dangers is another facet of his role. Anything could happen to him if Zoro’s not there to watch.

(Let it be known that it takes him approximately thirty minutes to find the servant passages, which is impressive, considering he’d been aimlessly wandering around, really.)

Once he finds the unfinished corridor, it’s clear that it wasn’t intended for anyone to use aside for the servants. Even in the dim lighting, the exposed surfaces are a rough contrast to the splendour everywhere else in the castle. It’s dark, yes, but it’s also not very dusty. Either someone is assigned to clean these ‘unseen’ areas, or this location gets far more use than Zoro expected.

Walking along the narrow passageway, he finds a little peephole in the wall. The sound of music and laughter is clear, even from all the way up here. Moving closer, Zoro can see wigs and ball gowns moving below, a flurry of colours.

Luffy has to be out there somewhere, but it might take a few minutes to pick him out. If he’s behaving, that is. As Zoro peers through the hole, one eye squeezed shut, he hears the sound of footsteps approaching and thinks nothing of it at first—probably a servant, considering this _is_ a servant passageway.

When he casually glances at the approaching presence, however, it’s clear that whoever this man is, he is definitely _not_ a servant.

Zoro pushes away from the peephole, mildly surprised. “My lord?”

The man is tall, taller than him, with a dark complexion and cool, yellow eyes, dressed in a dark, tight attire that, while demure, nonetheless demonstrates he is certainly _much_ higher in standing than Zoro could ever hope to be. He also appears young—older than Zoro, certainly, but not by that much. He’s certainly easy on the eyes.

“You,” the man says, his voice unexpectedly smooth and husky, almost making Zoro shiver. “Who are you?”

“Roronoa Zoro, my lord,” Zoro responds automatically, trying to keep a neutral face. “Valet to Prince Luffy.”

What is this guy doing here? And more importantly, who _is_ he? Shouldn’t he be down there, together with the other big wigs?

When the man remains silent, staring at him tentatively as if deciding what to do with him, Zoro decides to break the brief silence. “Something you need, my lord?”

Then, an amused little quirk of lips. “There are many things I need at the moment, though whether you can provide me with them is a different question,” The edge to the nobleman’s remark makes it obvious what he thought Zoro had been offering him, and at once, the tension increases. “Are you on some kind of errand?”

Zoro chooses his words carefully while he tries to ignore the prying eyes that are slowly trailing up and down his figure. “My time is my own at the moment,” He pauses momentarily, before adding, “my lord,” in the hopes that the man gets the message: _piss off_.

Handsome or not, Zoro is hardly interested in a quick fuck with some arrogant foreign nobleman, and from the man’s stature, he guesses this lord is the kind that tops, and Zoro has little interest in being bottom at the moment. Trysts with servants are absurdly common, and Zoro has been in several himself—mostly, to get his mind off a certain Prince—but only with men that are at least vaguely familiar to him.

“Then why are you here?” the nobleman says, unruffled by his rude tone.

“I could ask you the same question,” Zoro retorts coolly, eyes narrowing slightly and deliberately leaving out the respectful address. He’s supposed to be watching Luffy, not chattering with some Lord Whatever.

The nobleman raises his eyebrows at this, though he appears entertained rather than insulted. An odd reaction—one he’s never had before. “Oh? And since when does a Duke have to answer to a valet?”

 _A Duke_? Zoro’s eyes widen. “Lord Trafalgar?”

The man bends his waist slightly in a derisive little bow. “Naturally.”

Oh, he’s fucked. This isn’t just some pompous lord with delusions of grandeur he has run into as he first assumed, but the goddamn Duke himself, current heir to the throne. _Great first impression, Roronoa_.

Though, this does beg the question of why the Duke of all people is sneaking around in servant-meant hallways instead of enjoying the festivities. He’s tempted to ask, but having made one unforgivable faux pas already, Zoro doesn’t want to risk actually incurring this man’s wrath.

So instead, he bows deeply. “I am most sorry for my abhorrent lack of manners, my lord.” He tries his best to make it sound convincing, but the grudging tone is present nonetheless.

The Duke, however, merely chuckles. “No need to feign respect now, Roronoa. Here I was just starting to like you,”

Zoro straightens his back and arches his brows sharply. “My lord?”

“You must be wondering what I could possibly be doing here, of all places,” The Duke shoots him a wry smile, crossing his arms lazily over his chest. “If I trust you with the answer, will you do me a favour?”

He’s hardly in a position to refuse a request from a Duke. “Of course, my lord.”

“My men are looking for me,” Trafalgar drawls lackadaisically, gaze briefly drifting off towards the peephole. “In truth, I’ve grown bored of the ball and decided to take an early leave, without notifying them, of course. They mean well but they can be quite meddlesome all the same. At the moment, I’m still in the middle of trying to escape their notice.”

Zoro catches on quickly. “Do you want me to distract them for you, my lord?”

At this, the Duke pauses for a moment, appearing thoughtful. “That was my initial plan, yes, but I think I’d much prefer it if you could allow me to hide in your quarters, for the time being.”

“Won’t they be alarmed by your disappearance?”

“It’s hardly the first time I’ve done this,” Trafalgar responds indifferently.

While sneaking an heir to a kingdom into his quarters isn’t exactly how Zoro expected this night to go—and he can take a good guess as to _why_ Trafalgar changed his mind, from the way he’s eyeing him—he’s still rather reluctant. His duty is to watch Luffy, after all. Duke or no, he won’t be distracted from it.

“My apologies, my lord,” Zoro finally answers brusquely, entirely non-apologetic. “But I have a responsibility I can’t abandon, as much as I would’ve liked to assist you.”

The Duke’s lips curve in an amused smile. “Your Prince, I take it?” He approaches the peephole, bending down and peering out of it. “He seems to be doing just fine.”

Zoro frowns and once Trafalgar moves away from the hole, he looks through it once more—spotting his Prince with the brightest smile, in the middle of the floor, dancing with none other than Princess Rebecca.

They appear as if they’re genuinely enjoying each other’s company; the Princess laughing happily, seeming very pleased as Luffy spins her around and grins back at her. They look like a picturesque image of a royal couple, fitting together perfectly, as if they’re wedded already.

This is good—better than he could’ve ever hoped for.

So why won’t his chest stop aching?

Trafalgar peers at him inquisitively as Zoro pulls away from the peephole, but Zoro's face is smoothed out in a carefully stoic expression, and at the lack of a response, the Duke asks, “Well?”

Zoro turns to Trafalgar, feeling as if a void has just opened up in the place where his heart is supposed to be. The man is giving him an expectant look, and if this is really how things will play out—if this is where he and Luffy will meet fate, the least he can do is enjoy himself until the bitter finale.

“Alright.”

* * *

The alcohol has left an slight burn in his throat that lingers even as he nearly chokes on Trafalgar’s cock, a mixture of pre-cum and saliva dribbling down his chin and cheeks. Trafalgar himself is on top of him, Zoro pressed into the mattress as the man above him fucks his mouth without abandon, his low groans and the gagging noises from Zoro’s end the only sounds audible to him as he tries to keep his lips tight around the man’s shaft.

Trafalgar himself seems to enjoy watching Zoro struggle to breathe to an extent, one hand clenched in green locks, because when Zoro cracks his eyes open for just a moment and looks up at the man’s face, all he receives in return is a wry smile before Trafalgar thrusts his hips forward again and Zoro chokes, nose pressed into the thick, dark hairs above Trafalgar’s cock before the Duke pulls back once more.

Getting his mouth fucked isn’t exactly his most favourite activity, but it serves its purpose well enough—with a dick hitting the back of his throat, Zoro is too preoccupied to think about Luffy. Right now he just wants Trafalgar to cum already so he can get _his_ ; he’s been hard for a while now, both of them entirely naked on Zoro’s bed, and Trafalgar (to his surprise) actually caved to his demand of being on top.

He doesn’t think it’ll last much longer. Trafalgar’s breaths are becoming more and more laboured, his thrusts more erratic, and as Zoro manages to swallow, throat constricting around Trafalgar’s cock, the Duke gasps and the grip in his hair tightens. Any moment now he’ll be—

The erection is suddenly pulled out of his mouth and Zoro’s eyes snap open in confusion, though he does appreciate finally being able to _breathe_ again. Trafalgar climbs off of him, sitting down beside him, his length still throbbing hard and wet from Zoro’s saliva—and gives him a strained smile.

“You wanted to be on top, didn’t you?” His voice here sounds more obscene than it had when he’d been moaning, otherwise sharp eyes dimmed to a much more sensual shine that makes Zoro’s dick twitch as he sits up as well eagerly, wiping his mouth clean with the back of his hand.

Was about fucking time.

“Yeah,” Zoro replies quietly, barely-subdued desire burning in his gut as he watches Trafalgar lie down expectantly and makes a move to kneel between the man’s legs.

And then the Duke grabs a hold of one leg and yanks him to sit _on top_ of him instead, Zoro too startled to stop him. Trafalgar smirks at his bewildered expression, long fingers grabbing Zoro’s hips almost greedily, his cock pressing up and sliding between Zoro’s ass-cheeks demandingly. Zoro exhales sharply, trying to ignore the heat coiling in his stomach as he glares down at the Duke.

“I thought you said _I’d_ get to be on top.”

Trafalgar doesn’t stop smirking. “But you are on top, are you not?”

 _Smug fuckin’ bastard_. Zoro narrows his eyes at him, trying to ignore the wandering hands that are now clutching his ass. “So, what, you want me to ride you?” Not like he hasn't done it before.

“Clearly,” the Duke replies bluntly, and Zoro has half a mind to leave just to piss him off but he craves it too much, shifting a bit back as the Duke grabs a bottle of oil from the nightstand, dripping it onto his cock and spreading it with the palm of his hand. "Ready?"

Trafalgar is impatient, pressing his hips up briefly, Zoro feeling his thick cock sliding up and down the crack of his ass, and he makes a decision he knows he’ll regret in the morning.

“Yeah,” Zoro mutters, lifting himself up a bit and reaching around to grab a hold of Trafalgar’s dick, carefully positioning himself right on top of it before lowering himself down until he can feel the head of it pressing against his hole. Zoro pauses, trying to relax himself, because he knows that the thin coat of oil isn’t going to help much and this is going to _hurt_.

Trafalgar is watching him like a hawk, but then frees one hand and reaches over to the pile of clothes strewn haphazardly on the other side of the bed, grabbing his belt and offering it to Zoro. He takes it wordlessly, tucking it between his teeth and taking a deep breath, before lowering himself down even further.

It’s a red-hot, stinging pain that has his whole body tensing as he forces the tip of Trafalgar’s cock inside of him, past the tight ring of muscles clenching around the length so hard it elicits a strangled moan from the Duke, fingernails burying into the skin of Zoro’s hips. Zoro squeezes his eyes shut as he keeps going, jaws aching as he bites down on the belt as if attempting to snap it in half.

Fuck, this hurts—the most painful sex he’s ever had—but it’s also exactly what he wanted, and in a sick way he revels in the pain, not only because it wipes his mind blank but also because a part of him thinks he _deserves_ it. It’s his punishment for every twisted, wicked fantasy he’s had about Luffy, betraying his trust even though the Prince has no idea, no idea how much Zoro has wanted to kiss him, to hold him, to make love to him, to fuck him senseless—

He lowers himself down even further, steadily, slowly, the feeling of Trafalgar’s cock pushing into him burning in his insides when he wasn't properly prepared. Trafalgar himself is holding still, the grip on Zoro’s hips having relaxed a bit, and as Zoro makes a pained noise in the back of his throat as he finally takes in all of him, Trafalgar’s fingers start rubbing soothing circles in his skin—strangely considerate, for a man rumoured to be a ruthless killer.

Zoro, sitting down on top of the Duke and feeling his cock pulsing inside of him, is breathing heavily through his nose but even with Trafalgar’s comforting touches doesn’t know if he’ll be able to set a pace when it stings like this. Opening his eyes he glances down at Trafalgar, who’s been looking at his face the entire time. When their eyes meet, he gets a half-smile and the Duke releases one hip to wrap his fingers around Zoro’s neglected shaft, starting to stroke up and down in a steady rhythm.

Zoro inhales sharply, pleasure mixing with the ache until he can’t tell the difference between the two anymore and heat is all there is. He pulls out the belt from his mouth and carefully moves up—the feeling of Trafalgar’s cock sliding out of him burns hotter still and his lips part in a wanton moan, before he moves down again and Trafalgar meets him halfway, pushing his hips up.

“Come on,” Trafalgar hisses in frustration when Zoro bites back a whimper and pauses again. “You’re so slow.”

“Shut up,” Zoro bites back, looking down at him through watery eyes from the sting, glaring the best he can. All decorum, of course, is forgotten. The only thing that matters is Trafalgar’s dick in his ass.

“ _Fine_ ,” the Duke snaps, a vice-like grip on Zoro’s hips again that are only halfway down, and he thrusts up, faster than Zoro can handle.

Zoro's mouth falls open with a silent cry, back arching sharply, and Trafalgar doesn’t stop and wait until he has his composure back. He keeps the pace, slamming into him again, and again, and again—Zoro can barely breathe, heat and pain wracking his body as Trafalgar fucks him like a man possessed while holding him in place, the Duke’s eyes closed and an expression of pure bliss on his face.

“F- _fuck_ ,” Zoro gasps, hand mindlessly wandering down to his own cock and starting to pump it in sync with Trafalgar’s thrusts, unable to do much of anything else but bring himself to release. Trafalgar himself is entirely out of breath to the point where he’s gone completely silent, his heavy pants the only noise he makes.

God, this is agonising, and degrading, and yet the best fuck he’s ever had, mind-numbing and overwhelming in a way he hadn’t imagined it could ever be like. He’s never had anyone dominate him like this before because his pride had never allowed it—but on this night, having given in just this once, he’s finally realized what he’s missing out on.

And shit, Trafalgar’s cock just _feels so horribly good_. Who knew he was a masochist?

“I’m… ‘m g-gonna—“ Zoro can barely speak, his voice hoarse as Trafalgar’s thrusts become wilder and wilder, and he’s actually disappointed that it couldn’t last longer, and just as he’s on the edge of his climax—

“ _Zoro_?”

Zoro’s heart jumps into his throat at the voice ringing through his quarters and Trafalgar freezes underneath him, eyes opening wide, their gazes meeting and sharing a moment of complete panic.

Luffy is back from the ball.


	2. The Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey,” Zoro whispers then, thumb brushing over Luffy’s cheek, picking up something warm and wet the Prince hasn’t even noticed has been trailing down his face. “You shouldn’t be crying over a worthless guy like me, you know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and here we are, with massive zolu nsfw at the end of this one. next chapter will have all the lawlu (and the threesome).
> 
> what, like im gonna pretend this isnt all about the smut? pshhh

“Forgive me, but you seem a bit distracted tonight, Prince Luffy.”

The light scattering from the chandelier is dazzling, though he isn’t sure what the purpose is of the paintings on the ceiling, depicting nonetheless masterfully crafted images of cherubs with golden harps among the clouds. Who looks up at the ceiling in a ballroom, anyway? Well, aside from him, that is. It just seems like a waste of effort; which normal person has time to glance up at the ceiling décor while they’re trying to focus on not stepping on their partner’s toes?

He bets if Zoro had been here, the valet would’ve had something witty or scathing to say about it. Something along the lines of, “ _Which pervert spent hours painting naked babies?”_ Then Luffy would’ve laughed, and Zoro would’ve refilled his cup with a lopsided smile as he leaned over to whisper something about a passing nobleman overcompensating for something with his giant wig—Luffy would’ve laughed even louder, and at the end of the night they’d be stumbling back towards their quarters, leaning on each other and singing off-tune drinking songs.

“Prince Luffy?”

The soft voice finally snaps him back to attention and he glances down at the Princess he’s supposed to have been entertaining with wide eyes, as if having forgotten her presence completely. The two of them are standing on the sidelines as other couples dance, the Princess having just returned from a set with Prince Cavendish, finding Luffy waiting for her with a bright grin with two drinks in his hand.

As lovely as she is while he keeps her company, it didn’t take long for his thoughts to drift off. Such formal socializing is a bore; he’s never liked it, never liked gatherings like these. In the past he at least had Zoro to rely on for entertainment, but this isn’t home, where the culture is more flexible and forgiving. People in Dressrosa are so much stiffer, colder, stricter—he doesn’t like it at all.

Rebecca looks at him with concern more than anything, absolutely beautiful in her green dress; like a jewel on a crown, like spring-grown grass, like summer leaves, like Zoro’s hair as it blows softly in a mild breeze—

 _Stop thinking about him already_!

Luffy rubs the back of his neck, feeling a flush creeping up on his skin with a wave of embarrassment. “I’m terribly sorry; I think I had a little too much to drink,” he replies as he motions a servant to come take his drink away, an apologetic smile on his lips that seems to reassure the Princess.

“That’s quite alright.” She smiles back warmly, then inches a bit closer to him, the look in her eyes turning a bit mischievous. “Who’s the lucky one?”

“Lucky _what_?” Luffy frowns slightly as he hands his cup over to the servant, not certain what she’s talking about.

“I might not be experienced myself, but I know a love-struck man when I see one, my Prince,” Rebecca responds playfully—either the alcohol has loosened her up, or Luffy’s presence has set her at ease. He has that kind of effect on people, making them open up to him with his own honesty that shows even through forced poise.

What she’s suggesting, however, makes him pause for a moment, wondering if perhaps he hasn’t misjudged her a little bit. She seemed like a very timid, innocent girl oblivious to most worldly pleasures, but she can certainly hold her liquor (that glass she’s holding is her sixth one) and she knows a lovesick fool when she sees one.

Luffy sighs, exasperated with himself. “It’s that obvious, huh?”

“Well, you _have_ been staring at the ceiling and smiling to yourself for a while now,” Princess Rebecca responds, taking a delicate sip from her white wine. “I’ll try not to feel too jealous.”

“I’m sorry,” Luffy apologizes again, feeling rather like an idiot. “Tonight should be about you, Princess, but I can’t seem to keep it together.”

“This person must be very special to you,” she asserts carefully, and Luffy merely grins boyishly as the music briefly tones down in a pause between different sets, some couples now starting to leave the floor and others joining in.

“Yeah, very special,” he agrees as he extends his hand to the Princess. “The most special—but since he’s not here to dance with me tonight, would you do me the honour instead?”

Rebecca chuckles, taking his hand with a happy blush, allowing him to guide her towards the centre of the ballroom, bystanders and other dancers pausing to look at them and make space for them.

“I hope I make for a suitable replacement,” the Princess says with a hum, putting one hand on his shoulder while his own is placed respectfully above her lower back, the two of them now waiting for the music to start up again.

“You won’t hear any complaints from me, Princess,” Luffy responds cheerfully, and as soon as the tune starts playing again the dance starts, Luffy’s lead gentle—she’s clearly not used to dancing with someone else, and after that energetic set with Bartolomeo earlier she must be tired.

“Tell me something about him,” the Princess requests, seeming genuinely curious and almost intrigued. A romantic dreamer at heart, most likely. A little like himself.

Luffy smiles softly. “I hardly know where to start.” She looks at him attentively, and her eager expression almost makes him laugh. “He’d probably kill me if he heard I told anyone this, but despite looking like a really tough guy, he has an unexpectedly soft side, you know? The things he says might not be kind, and he’ll beat you up without hesitation, and he’s kinda scary when he’s pissed off, but he’s always looking out for me. I can barely remember a time where he wasn’t by my side. I guess that’s why I can’t really concentrate tonight; when he’s not with me, I always feel a little lost.”

The way Zoro speaks, the way he carries himself, anyone would assume he’s just another a strong and stoic warrior who wouldn’t hesitate to skewer you on his blades, but Luffy knows that other side of him. He feels it in the gentleness with which the swordsman’s fingers hold his hair when he cuts it; in the arm supporting him as they stumble back towards Luffy’s room and pass out on the floor; in the hand brushing through his hair when Zoro thinks he’s still asleep the morning after their drunken escapades; in every glance and smile the man thinks went unseen by the Prince.

The sound of laughter breaks him out of his memories and Luffy finds Princess Rebecca giggling to herself as he spins her around, a bemused expression on his face. Did he say something weird?

“Sorry,” she says at seeing his confusion. “You just looked so happy while you were talking about him just now, it’s as if you were glowing.”  

He feels his cheeks heat up slightly, a slightly embarrassed grin on his face. “Really?” Catching himself in his elated state, he attempts reigning himself in, as he has been taught to do from a very young age, even if his instincts is to laugh heartily and let himself go. “If it’s bothering you—”

“Oh no, please—don’t pretend for my sake,” The Princess seems genuinely delighted by it, Luffy’s happiness probably a bit infectious to her. “Though I have to ask,” she starts then, “why did you attend at all, if you already have someone you want to be with?”

That’s a bit more complicated, but he could at least tell her the main reason. She doesn’t look like someone who’d give away his secrets. “He sees me more as a little brother, in the end.”

For as long as he can remember, his valet has always treated him as a kid—in a way, Zoro has always been more of a guardian to him than anyone else, seeing him as someone whom he has a duty to protect, kind of like an older brother. Even when there are those moments where the two of them indulge in mischief and talk to each other like equals, whenever the swordsman feels as if Luffy is getting to close, he’ll revert to that almost-parental figure and push him away.

It has never stopped Luffy from trying, of course, but at this point he’s pretty certain that Zoro really must not think of him as anything more than family. The thought is rather depressing, but it irks him as well—that duty-bound aspect of his character is admirable and yet pisses him off at the same time. Luffy’s nature has always been heavily drawn towards freedom and liberty, yet sometimes, sometimes Zoro’s loyalty to him and to the crown gets in the way of it, like an anchor dragging him down.  

“Have you asked him about it?” Rebecca inquires as the first set comes to an end and they come to a brief standstill, waiting for the second one to start. Luffy shakes his head. “But then, how can you be _certain_?”

The Prince’s brows furrow slightly. “I guess I can’t be, but even so, if he somehow felt the same way, he’d never agree to be with me. It goes against his… I don’t know, his honour or something stupid like that.”

Thinking about it is just starting to make him feel annoyed. If Zoro _did_ return his feelings, he’d never admit to it—or he’d reject Luffy outright, giving him some idiotic excuse about their positions in society being too far apart, how it would cause a scandal for Luffy and damage his reputation forever, how they’d have no future together because Garp would be forced to disown him, and so on and so forth.

Yes, Luffy knows very well what Zoro would say if he ever brought it up. _“We can’t do this—I promised your grandfather to take care of you, not taint you,”_ or _“You’d be shunned by everyone, kicked out of the castle, is that what you want?”_ or even worse yet: _“You deserve better than me.”_

Always, always only thinking about what’s best for Luffy.

That last one is especially something he’d say, and it aggravates Luffy whenever he thinks about it. Just because he happened to be born into a lesser noble family, just because he wasn’t as well off as a Prince—that automatically meant they could never be together? What a stupid rule. Who the hell came up with it?

It’s unfair. Luffy would’ve traded being a Prince for being with Zoro without hesitation, but you can’t choose your family, or your heritage. Especially now, being forced to gradually start looking for a future spouse, he finds that the urge to cling to Zoro is stronger than ever. Forget not being able to marry him—once Luffy is King, there will be no need for a valet anymore. Because he’s the second-born son, he’s the one who’s going to marry into a royal family, live in another kingdom entirely, and be obligated to get a new personal detail of servants.

He’ll have to let Zoro go when that time comes, and the thought of it is absolutely maddening.

“I’m sure it’ll work out eventually,” Rebecca attempts to comfort him as the music starts up again. “Love always finds a way—or so they say, no?”

Luffy smiles faintly, but can’t bring himself to believe it.

* * *

At the end of the night he feels drained, wanting nothing more and nothing less than to walk back into his quarters to see Zoro seated on the armchair with a bottle of whiskey, having been up late waiting for him. He’d smirk and make some comment about Luffy looking like he just got trampled by a herd of cows before helping to undo all the annoying buckles and belts on his outfit—arguing with him when Luffy inevitably demands a late-night bath dragging him to his room and practically tucking him into bed.

Then he’d wait there by his bedside until he’s certain Luffy has dozed off (the Prince would be pretending, of course) and then the valet’s fingers would trail through his hair, the rough tone of his voice dimmed down to a hushed whisper as he’d murmur his Prince goodnight.

Yeah, that sounds like heaven right about now.

Luffy finally arrives at his quarters thanks to the directions of a servant, cracking his door open and eagerly peeking inside.

It’s dark.

No Zoro.

The disappointment is intense as the Prince slips in and softly closes the door behind him, leaning back against it and breathing out a sigh. The valet must’ve already gone to sleep. He probably ought to do the same, considering breakfast tomorrow will be held together with the King of Dressrosa himself present, and it won’t do to show up sleep-deprived and still weary.

Just as Luffy sheds his coat, a strange, dark red stain on the wall next to him pulls his attention. He approaches it curiously. Wine? Glancing down, he notices that although the mess has been cleaned, there are still tiny shards of glass left scattered around the floor. What happened here? It’s not like Zoro to waste alcohol like that.

Moving further into the room, Luffy lights a few candles and then drapes his coat over the chair, wondering if he should go wake Zoro up to ask him about it, peering towards the valet’s bedroom door on the other side of the room.

“ _Ah, mmh…”_

Luffy blinks at the strange noise. It sounds muffled, and a bit strained, but that was definitely Zoro’s voice. Is he still up? What’s he doing in there? What was… what was that noise he just made?

Was it a moan?

Luffy feels his face starting to grow red as images flash through his mind before he can help himself. Usually his interest for all matters relating to carnal pleasure is nearly nonexistent, but the thought of Zoro lying on his bed, sweat beading on his forehead with his lips parted and eyes squeezed shut in bliss as he’s pleasuring himself—Luffy licks his lips nervously, feeling the blood and heat starting to rush to his member.

Shaking his head, he tries blocking it out. This is no time to be getting aroused! How is he supposed to go to sleep with _that_ stuck in his head?

Too flustered by his lewd imagination, Luffy calls out without thinking, hoping that the man isn’t actually doing what he fantasizes he’s doing to put his mind at ease. “Zoro?”

There’s complete silence for a moment as the Prince slowly moves over toward the door, and as he tries to listen in, he can hear the bed creaking, hissed words being spoken—and it’s not just Zoro in there. A second voice can be heard faintly through the walls, though too stifled for him to make out the words.

His chest tightens and something inside of him cracks when he finally figures out what’s going on, when he understands that Zoro is in there _with someone else_ , giving himself to someone that isn’t Luffy, that couldn’t possibly deserve to even _touch_ his swordsman.

An aching anger takes over his rationality, jaw clenches and hands balled to shaking fists until his knuckles are turning white, and once more without thinking, he grabs the handle of the door and rips it open, the candle light from the main room dimly illuminating the swordsman’s bedroom.

“L-Luffy!”

Zoro is standing next to the bed, undergarments on at least, staring at him with wide eyes in an expression Luffy has never seen on his face before—he looks mortified, regretful and ashamed all at once.

Next to him, on the bed with the sheets pulled up to his hips in order to hide his naked form, is a tall, dark-skinned man Luffy doesn’t recognize, _glaring_ at the Prince, having the audacity to appear irritated by him as if he doesn’t even understand the crime he has committed in Luffy’s eyes just now.

Of course Luffy isn’t completely daft—he knows Zoro has done this before, which is another reason for why the Prince is convinced that this is one-sided, but the valet has always kept it away from Luffy. He’s never talked about it, has never done anything like this inside the castle, and he usually went out to town and disappeared for a few days, later returning and saying nothing of it.

It always hurt then, the thought of it, but to see it with his own eyes—to think Zoro would do this right underneath Luffy’s nose, it’s incomparable how much more this pains him, even though he knows he has no right to be upset with him, to feel so _betrayed_. At most, he ought to be shocked at his valet’s improper behaviour, address him with a heavy reprimand, and then go on with his life.

Whatever he ought to be feeling doesn’t matter, however, because he can’t see straight through the tears in his eyes and his heart is broken.

Utterly broken.

“Wh-what…” His voice shakes, nearly inaudible, and he takes a deep breath—the anger comes pouring out before he can help it, the floodgates opened. “ _What the hell do you think you’re doing?"_

His scream must’ve been heard by the entire west wing of the castle, but the repercussions to it don’t occur to him. A wounded animal will always lash out instinctively.

“I wasn’t…” Zoro looks at a complete loss, glancing at the unfamiliar man as if hoping for a solution to magically arrive, but the man merely narrows his eyes at him. “Luffy, I-I’m sorry—“

“Sorry? You’re _sorry_?” Luffy repeats quietly, rage boiling underneath his skin. He tries keeping it inside, tries so hard, but then the man in Zoro’s bed sighs and relaxes against the pillows, _as if he belongs there._

And Luffy snaps.

“Luffy—“

The Prince grabs a book from the case near the door and hurls it at Zoro who barely dodges it, but doesn’t dodge the barrage that follows as Luffy keeps throwing whatever object is within reach, tears streaming down his face. “IDIOT! YOU STUPID, LYING, CHEATING IDIOT! I HATE YOU, _I HATE YOU_ —“

The valet valiantly endures the pain of having a four-hundred page novel smashing into his head, approaching Luffy with his arms up in front of his face. “Just-would you- _Luffy_!” Managing to get close enough to grab the Prince’s arms, Luffy still holding a small vase in one hand, the swordsman tries restraining him. “Calm down! We can talk this over—“

Luffy attempts hitting his head with the vase anyway, Zoro ducking and barely managing to avoid a nasty bruise on his forehead, the vase shattering on the floor instead. “Shut up, shut up, _shut up_!” Having nothing to throw, he tries shoving Zoro, or punching him, or kicking him, wanting the swordsman to feel the pain Luffy is feeling right now, but Zoro endures all the hits and wraps his arms around him instead, pressing the distraught Prince against his chest.

All at once, Luffy goes limp, the energy sucked out of him. He doesn’t _really_ want to hurt Zoro, not even after this, not when he’s holding him in such a warm and comforting embrace—the last time they’d hugged like this had been when they were children. Luffy can’t help but succumb to it, even as his heart aches and screams and weeps.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” the swordsman whispers in his ear, voice hoarse as Luffy’s nails dig into the skin of his back, but Zoro doesn’t even flinch.

“S-stupid Zoro, I ha-hate you,” the Prince sobs without meaning a word of it, the hand petting his hair a small comfort. “I re-really hate you!”

“I know,” Zoro’s voice almost cracks on the second word. “I deserve it. I’m an idiot. A really horrible one at that.”

Luffy says nothing, burying his face in the crook of Zoro’s neck, arms wrapped around him tight, and it hurts, _and it hurts_ , but it starts lessening a bit, just a little bit. He doesn’t have the right to be this angry, this pained, and yet Zoro takes on all the blame anyway, just so Luffy won’t feel guilty afterwards.

Whatever he does, it always seems to be for Luffy’s sake—except for this one slip-up. This one mistake. It had to be, hadn’t it? There was no way Zoro would’ve done this had he been thinking clearly; he must’ve had too much to drink, must’ve had something on his mind… was it really a mistake?

What if it wasn’t?

“Are you two quite done?” A soft voice speaks from the bedroom, and Luffy looks up, glancing over Zoro’s shoulder to the stranger still tangled in the sheets, covered in sweat, looking entirely relaxed.

“Who the hell are you?” Luffy growls, teeth gritting at the amused smile the stranger gives him and his hold on Zoro tightening reflexively.

“Duke Trafalgar, of course. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, _little Prince_.”

The anger pounds in Luffy’s head and he has half a mind to go up there and rip this man to _shreds_ when a loud banging on the door startles him—Zoro freezing in his hold, though Tra… Trafel… the Duke seems entirely unsurprised.

“Your little shouting match has attracted half the castle to the doorstep, by now.” He sounds irritated as he slips out of bed, his form lean but still built with muscle—he’s more attractive than Luffy, the Prince wondering if this is the type of guy Zoro would fall for, nearly Luffy’s complete opposite. Cool, collected, _tall_ ; jealousy fills his mouth with cuss words he’s about to fling at the man when the knocking sounds once more.

“ _My Lord? Is everything alright_?” a guard of some sort, probably, but there are more voices coming from the hallway.

“Y-yeah.” Luffy releases Zoro, turning away from him entirely—the mere sight of him _hurts_ now. He tries steadying his voice instead. “Everything is fine!”

“ _He doesn’t sound fine to me,”_ another voice speaks, deep and rumbling, and Luffy scarcely recognizes it. “ _I think the little Prince was having a fight in there.”_

“I wasn’t—!”

“ _Break the door down.”_

It occurs to him that whoever is ordering this must be someone of a high rank considering these are a _Prince’s_ quarters, but what matters more is the fact that if they catch him with Zoro like this, almost completely undressed, it’ll bring irredeemable shame to the valet and his family—he’ll be disowned without a second thought, kicked out of the castle, forced to become a common foot soldier to get by.

As much as he just hurt Luffy, he’s still the Prince’s most cherished friend, and Luffy can’t let such a fate befall his swordsman. He’s always protecting the Prince, but this time Luffy will be the one to protect _him._

So he shoves Zoro inside the bedroom and grabs the Duke by the wrist (who doesn’t seem taken aback at all, as if having expected it), yanking him along as the door is slammed against, the guards outside attempting to break it down.

An affair with Zoro would get them both into trouble, but an affair with another noble is forgivable.

“Luffy, what—“ Before Zoro can do anything else, bewildered by the sudden turn in events, Luffy slams the bedroom door shut in his face.

“Stay there and keep quiet!” he orders as sternly as he can manage while wiping the tears off his face and fumbling to undo all the buttons on his shirt. Zoro is silent.

Luffy curses softly, hands shaking too severely for him to properly undo all the buttons, when tan fingers push his hands away and start undoing them for him. The Prince, utterly dumbfounded, glances up at the tall stranger who seems entirely unconcerned by the fact that they’re about to cause a scandal of epic proportions within the kingdom and the fact that he’s still completely naked, calm as he unbuckles Luffy’s belt for him as well.

“What’re you…?” Doesn’t this guy care at all for the situation? Apparently not, because his hands are wrapping around Luffy’s waist and pulling him close.

“We need to make it look convincing, don’t we?” the Duke replies simply, seeming almost amused, in fact. Luffy doesn’t know what to say, but doesn’t have time to think of anything because the door gives in and is torn off its hinges, collapsing onto the ground.

They both turn, and face the crowd of people gathered in the corridor that gasp in shock and outrage at what they see inside.

Luffy swallows thickly, hands holding onto the Duke’s arms.

Gramps is going to kill him.

* * *

“Ow!”

His brother glares at him, the hit on the back of Luffy’s head still stinging as he rubs it, glaring right back at Ace.

“I’ve gotta say,” the Crown Prince starts slowly, eyes narrowing. “You’ve done some _really_ stupid things in the past, and I’ve always laughed it off, but this time it isn’t funny, Luffy. I can’t even laugh at this! What the hell were you thinking?”

Luffy frowns but stubbornly looks away, saying nothing. While his older brother’s anger is justified, he’s a lot more concerned about his grandfather, who’s just _standing_ there, arms crossed, silent.

The man who ordered the guard to break down the door is present as well—none other than the illustrious King of Dressrosa himself, seated on his throne and watching with interest. They’re the only people inside the throne room, guards stationed outside but none present within.

Turns out that the stranger from last night was one of the King’s favourites. As such, the Duke himself wasn’t directly reprimanded—the King had merely raised his eyebrows at the sight of him, and that was all. Luffy and he were taken to separate rooms after they’d been made decent (meaning that they put their clothes on again) and Luffy didn’t even have the opportunity to talk to him or Zoro, for that matter. He hasn’t even seen his valet since.

It’s still a mystery to him as to why Traffy had gone along with it at all, but he supposes he ought to be thankful, as much as he hates the guy. At least this way, Zoro will just get a mild scolding for not having paid attention to his Prince better, and most of the blame will be for Luffy to take. He can handle it—after all, what could they possibly do to him? His family would never disown him over something like _this_. Princes and royalty had affairs with others all the time, after all.

“I was… I was drunk,” Luffy mutters, avoiding his brother’s glare by staring down at his feet, trying to look as remorseful as possible. “It was just a slip-up, it won’t happen again.”

Ace sighs deeply and this time his grandfather speaks up, unusually grave. “I don’t think you understand the situation you’re in, son.”

“What? What do you mean?” Luffy looks from his brother to his grandfather in confusion, but the one to elaborate is neither of the two.

“You might have been able to get away with this in Foosha,” King Doflamingo speaks languidly, that ever-present grin on his face. “But in Dressrosa this kind of behaviour is more of a problem. In essence, you’ve tarnished Duke Trafalgar’s honour—who’s going to wed a man that’s known for sleeping around and then showing it off on top of that so shamelessly?”

Luffy frowns slightly. “How is that my problem?”

He’s hit on the back of his head again, this time by his grandfather, which hurts a lot more than Ace’s hits. “It’s at least _half_ your fault that this happened, you brat! Take responsibility!”

“Oh.” the Prince nods. “Okay, I’ll just go apologize—“

“An apology isn’t going to cut it, is what we’re saying,” Ace interrupts, appearing troubled and rather conflicted, but nonetheless carrying on. “You’re…” He hesitates briefly. “Well, there’s no other way to put this: you’re going to have to marry the guy.”

The Prince blinks slowly, his brother’s words not quite registering at first—it sounded so absolutely bizarre that he has to conclude Ace couldn’t possibly have said that. “What did you just say? Because I think I heard something really—”

“You have to marry Duke Trafalgar,” King Doflamingo repeats for him, his deep, rumbling voice clear-cut and impossible to mishear.

Luffy wants to laugh, at first, lips already quirking up into a grin until he looks at his grandfather and sees the severe look reflected in those dark eyes, immovable and resolute. Beside him, Ace is scowling, glare directed at the floorboards, a stiff line of tension in his shoulders.

This has to be a joke. Luffy repeats it inside his head as if hoping that will make it come true, looking from one relative to the other, neither of whom are looking at him. It has to be a joke. It has to be a joke. _It has to be a joke_.

He knows it isn’t, though. Knows that a small kingdom such as theirs can’t risk alienating the alliance between them and such a powerful nation as Dressrosa. Knows that his decision to take the blow for his valet was selfish rather than selfless—just because he didn’t want to see Zoro get hurt, just because he didn’t want to lose him, he put the diplomatic ties between his country and this one in danger. Dressrosa is not afraid of war over the pettiest of incidents, its military force the strongest and largest in the world. This is not optional. This is something he has to do.

Luffy knows all of this very well, but it still _has_ to be a joke, right?

One big, cruel joke.

Freedom is all he ever yearned for, and yet now they mean to chain him down to a man he feels nothing but animosity towards and clip his wings? He glances over to King Doflamingo, whose grin hasn’t moved from his lips, but even faced with Luffy’s despondent expression, he doesn’t budge.

The Prince himself is silent, as if his voice has been cut out of his throat, and just as he swallows down his despair and opens his mouth to defy and protest and rebel, he knows it’s futile.

This is a fight he can’t win.

* * *

The guard at the door straightens up when he approaches, attempting to look alert. Luffy glances at the room he’s guarding, approaching it with a strange mixture of trepidation and longing, courage gathered for as much as it can be. The soldier stationed here looks at him expectantly, and the Prince nervously clears his throat.

“I want to see Zoro,” he says, voice hoarse from all the shouting he did earlier in the throne room that morning, the time quickly approaching midnight—and quickly passing by the appointment he was supposed to have with his _fiancé_.

As far as Luffy is concerned, though, Duke Trafalgar can wait for him in the darkest, deepest pit of hell, because he has no intention on seeing him willingly. Or at least, not until he has sorted things out with Zoro.

At his request, the guard knocks on the door three times. There’s a lengthy pause in which all Luffy hears is his own heartbeat pounding in between his ears, as if trying to break through his skull, until the familiar, slow rhythm of strong footsteps makes his pulse race even faster and he’s breaking out a sweat, body almost going into a fight-or-flight state.

He’s never felt so uneasy about seeing Zoro before, but after what he did last night, it’s hard for Luffy to find any explanation for it except the obvious one, and the one that hits the hardest—Zoro really doesn’t love him at all. Perhaps even their friendship isn’t as mutual as Luffy once thought, because why else would his swordsman do something so cruel, unless he truly didn’t care about Luffy’s feelings? Or maybe he didn’t think he’d be caught doing it. Somehow, that possibility doesn’t make Luffy feel any better.

Then again, if the Prince really thought that was all there was to it, he wouldn’t be here. He’d be dragging his feet to meet his fiancé and resigning himself to what would at best become an indifferent marriage—but he can’t believe that the Zoro he knows would be so callous.

He wants to hear it from his valet’s own mouth before he gives up.

“ _What is it_?” comes a quiet voice from the other end. So quiet and subdued, in fact, that Luffy barely even recognizes it at first. Zoro’s voice to him has always been like a blade tearing through stone, sharp and cutting but powerful. This sounds more like a blade rusted and on the verge of shattering.

Luffy takes a deep breath, but it doesn’t help—the wounds are far too fresh, still soaking through his skin, and Zoro isn’t making this any easier.

“You have a visitor, sir,” the guard announces, and there’s a pause.

_“I don’t want to see anyone right now.”_

After all that he’s done, he thinks he can still hide? That he doesn’t owe Luffy _anything_?

“But sir—”

Before the guard can try and convince him, Luffy, ire stewing in his gut, kicks the door open on impulse, temper risen beyond what he can control.

The room is dark and the door’s lock is definitely broken now, but he can still see Zoro’s form standing in the centre of it, silhouette dimly lit by a small candle nearby. Luffy can barely make out his face, but he doesn’t really care what kind of expression the swordsman is wearing right now because the Prince is _really_ pissed off.

“So, what, you think you can mess around with a guy in _my_ quarters and then turn me away when I come to see you?” His voice thunders through the room as he steps inside, slamming the door shut behind him—the guard wisely remaining standing on his post. Luffy can see even less now with the light from the corridor blocked out, but he can smell the scent of alcohol clearly enough to know Zoro’s been doing some serious drinking.

The man himself says nothing, still as a statue.

Why isn’t he saying anything? Doesn’t he feel responsible at all? Doesn't he think he owes Luffy any explanation whatsoever? Does Luffy mean _that_ little to him?

“I want to know why,” Luffy continues in a low tone with a tremble of anger in his voice, taking a step forward, and immediately Zoro takes one back—it’s infuriating, how he always puts this distance between them, even now. The Prince takes another step, and Zoro similarly takes another one back, now close enough for the candle to illuminate some of his face.

His head is bowed, eyes fixed to the ground, as quiet as a gravestone.

“Oi.” When Luffy takes his third step, Zoro backs into the desk behind him, his jaw clenching, but still refusing to meet Luffy’s eyes. The Prince’s voice shakes to the edge of breaking. “Say something.”

Silence—always, across a vast, unbridgeable distance between them.

Luffy, feeling like he might burst, like his bones are set ablaze and his skin will crack and his flesh will split right open and his ribs will pierce through his heart, reaches towards his old friend.

Zoro closes his eyes for a moment, exhaling softly, lids then sliding open to reveal a look as cold as frozen lakes—and he pushes Luffy’s hand away.

He might as well have torn Luffy’s lungs right out of his chest.

“ _Why_?” The Prince isn’t even aware of the trembling of his own body, but he’s facing a wall that won’t break no matter how hard he hits it. He reaches out again anyway, because that’s all he knows how to do, fingers curling in the front of Zoro’s unbuttoned shirt, clenching in the fabric as if trying to tear it apart with just his grip. “Say something! _Say something,_ dammit!” he screams, but Zoro’s gaze is still cold, still unflinching.

Then, his lips part, words so shockingly soft in contrast to those harsh eyes: “I don’t deserve you.”

Luffy freezes, staring in disbelief—because that glare in Zoro’s gaze, he finally realizes, isn’t meant for Luffy.

It’s pure self-loathing.

“Wh-what?” he croaks, blinking slowly. “What did you… what did you just say?”

His valet’s look softens into one of misery, the slight bend in his lips a piss-poor imitation of a real smile. “I don’t deserve you, Luffy. I never have,” The Prince’s hold on his shirt slackens slightly due to shock as he listens Zoro speak, the man usually so confident appearing utterly _dismal_. “I thought… no, I wanted… I was stupid, like I always am. Even though I knew you and I would never… I still _hoped_ —“

“What are you saying?” Luffy is utterly bewildered, not being able to make sense of Zoro’s jumbled mess of an explanation. The swordsman gives him a wry bark of laughter that sounds more self-pitying than anything else, shaking his head, and his hands cup Luffy’s cheeks, the Prince almost flinching at the sudden feeling of warm palms on his skin, wondering if he’s hallucinating.

“I always knew you’d have to marry someone eventually,” Zoro continues quietly, and Luffy can’t look away from his eyes—it isn’t right for Zoro to look at him like that, as if Luffy's very existence is tearing him apart.

“I thought I was ready for it, but when I saw you dancing with the Princess, I guess it really hit me—how while I’d always be yours, you’d never be mine. The Duke just happened to be there, some stranger I thought could help me forget.” Zoro sighs and Luffy feels it on his lips, pulse fluttering in his veins.  “I couldn’t deal with it, Luffy. I still can’t. In the end, all my idiotic, self-centered recklessness accomplished was having you ripped away from me even faster.”

Luffy can barely keep up, dizzied by his words, by the heartfelt meaning and the ache all at the same time.

Idiots. They’ve both been complete idiots. Zoro always… _always_ loved him. Loved him so much the thought of Luffy being taken from him made him resort to self-destruction, if that’s what it took to forget, to distance himself. Luffy had been too selfish to see it, wanting only more of his attention, more of his affection, and turning almost scornful when being denied it, starting to doubt their bond all while Zoro was fighting an inner battle, torn between duty and want.

“Hey,” Zoro whispers then, thumb brushing over Luffy’s cheek, picking up something warm and wet the Prince hasn’t even noticed has been trailing down his face. “You shouldn’t be crying over a worthless guy like me, you know.” Luffy nearly laughs at how ridiculous that is, because if anyone is worthless, it’s him for not having realized in how much pain his valet has been in all this time.

They’ve both realized it now, how much of their feelings are shared between them, but it took an irreversible mistake for that to happen, and it’s too late to fix it. Luffy will be married off to the Duke, and he’ll likely never see Zoro again after the wedding.

How did everything spiral out of control like this?

Shoving Zoro’s hands away from his face, Luffy instead wraps his arms around him, burying his face in his valet’s shirt. “No!”

A childish reaction, maybe, and a futile rejection, but his determination isn’t due to denial. They could be so happy together—Luffy realizes that now. He won’t run away from his marriage, of course, and certainly won’t abandon his kingdom and his family over something that’s hardly uncommon among nobility, but he refuses to abandon his closest friend either.

“No?” Zoro replies, sounding almost amused, his fingers gently brushing through Luffy’s hair, who’s clinging to him as if his life depends on it.

“I’m not letting you go,” Luffy’s voice is muffled in Zoro’s shirt, but the shaky tone has disappeared entirely. “I’m never letting you go! Even if I have to marry that jerk, you have to stay by my side, no matter what happens!”

“Luffy—“

“No, shut up!” Luffye raises his head and looked up at Zoro with a scowl, tears and snot still all over his face. “I love you, so just shut up!”

He hears Zoro’s breath hitch, the swordsman gazing at him in near-disbelief as Luffy wipes at his cheeks and his nose with the back of his hand. Not his grandfather or his brother or any foreign King is going to keep them apart now, not when Luffy knows that Zoro loves him—whatever it takes, _whatever_ he has to do to make it happen, he won’t let anyone take Zoro away from him.

Zoro smiles faintly, leaning forward, their foreheads gently bumping together. “When I imagined you confessing to me as a kid, it was a lot more romantic than this. You didn’t have snot running all over your face, for one thing.”

Luffy moves his arms from Zoro’s back up to his neck, so close he’s certain the man can even see the tears still clinging to his lashes, and he beams a genuine grin, because _Zoro loves him_ , and nothing can change that. “What did you imagine?”

He feels Zoro’s arms slipping around his lower back and the swordsman’s smile turns genuine now, bittersweet as reality is. “Usually it would be on the balcony, during a dance. You’d pull me away from the crowds and we’d talk for a while—then you’d tell me, very bluntly, and then I’d kiss you. Not very imaginative, I know.”

“Oh.” The tips of their noses touch briefly before Zoro tilts his head to the side and a moment later Luffy feels something feather-soft brushing on his lips, his knees growing weak and butterflies in his stomach, forgetting for a moment that he has a fiancé now. “And how would you kiss me?”

Zoro raises his hand and uses his sleeve to wipe off the remaining snot and tears that have dribbled down Luffy’s lips and cheeks, and then kisses him. It’s the briefest touch of lips, so soft and gentle for a man whose hands wields weapons that are meant to kill—for someone who has shared his bed with several lovers in the past, yet kisses Luffy so gently as if he is afraid he might ruin him.

Luffy feels his heart melt inside his chest like burning magma that drips down and sets his insides on fire, and, selfishly—as he always is—he pulls Zoro as close as he can be, and kisses back with a blistering force. Their teeth smash together uncomfortably and it’s a mess; a volcano having finally erupted, and he can’t distinguish Zoro’s lips from his tongue, doesn’t know who’s moaning and where those hands are going, slipping underneath his shirt and trailing flames over his skin, but he doesn't care either, because this is  _perfect_.

This is what they were meant to be from the start, had they not been so blinded and stubborn, and while the future is a different question, all that matters is the moment—and this moment is paradise. Luffy tastes the alcohol on Zoro’s tongue and he’s never tasted anything sweeter. Zoro moans against him, breaths hot and erratic, firm and strong hands worn from always protecting him finally embracing him, rough fingers that have known nothing but holding blades finally holding _him_.

“Luffy,” Zoro sighs when they part for just a moment to catch their breaths, and Luffy can’t do anything but smile at the sound, unable to recall a single moment happier than this one. Zoro kisses him again, and again, and his cheeks, and his chin, his nose, his eyelids, his forehead, his ear, down to his neck. Luffy’s toes curl up and he shudders at Zoro’s lips at his throat, teeth nipping at his skin, eyes closing in utter bliss—

And then Zoro pulls away, and he kneels.

Luffy blinks in surprise, staring down at him with wide eyes as Zoro takes his hand, his gaze resolved and almost steely with determination, before he bows his head down and kisses the back of Luffy’s hand.

“Zoro?” Luffy says quietly, but Zoro doesn’t look up, instead turning his hand around and kissing his palm as well.

“No matter what happens, be it now or in the distant future…” Zoro’s lips move down lower, pressing on his pulse, and Luffy exhales shakily—the way he’s holding it, treating it as if it’s a precious treasure, it’s too much. “No matter what obstacles we’ll face, I’ll always be your servant.” He can hardly bear it anymore, and then Zoro finally looks up at him, smiling: “And you’ll always be my Prince.”

Luffy feels like he’s falling apart, but it’s a different kind of breaking, a shattering of pointless self-control as he drops to his knees in front of Zoro and kisses him so fiercely Zoro topples over onto the ground, a surprised noise escaping the back of his throat as Luffy nearly smothers him, kissing wildly and hungrily until his lungs ache for breath.

“Zoro, I—“ There’s not enough skin for his hands to explore, and he tugs at the sash around Zoro’s pants needily, nuzzling his face in the crook of Zoro's neck. “I-I want… I want…” He can’t put it into words because he’s not quite sure; this is moving fast, but he wants it to move even faster, wants more, doesn’t exactly know what that entails, but then Zoro grinds his hips up into his and Luffy gasps at the heat that sparks with the friction.

“That?” Zoro finishes for him in a low whisper in his ear and Luffy doesn’t trust his voice to remain steady so he merely nods, now acutely aware of the thick bulge pressing against his hip. Zoro’s hands are on his back, soothingly rubbing up and down, trying to calm the overly eager Prince down. “Which way do you want it?”

Luffy bites his lip, doesn’t know how to reply, because he’s not sure what Zoro means. He’s nowhere near being experienced with anything and he knows next to nothing about how two men have sex. He just _wants_ —but what?

Probably having guessed his uncertainty, Zoro continues, voice heavy with that same want that’s coiling in Luffy’s gut. “Maybe we should take it slow. I could just use my mouth, for now.”

“Your mouth for what?” Luffy questions confusedly, pushing up to lean on his elbows and looking down at Zoro, who raises his eyebrows slightly.

“For what? Well, I mean…” He furrows his brows, and looks away then, appearing slightly embarrassed. “I… uh, to… to suck you off, I suppose.”

Luffy's initial reaction is bemusement—he meant putting Luffy’s dick in his mouth? Huh. “Wouldn’t that hurt? With the teeth, and all.”

“Not if I use my lips,” Zoro mumbles and Luffy swallows thickly imagining it. Zoro’s lips, around his cock, with his tongue, and _sucking_ on it— “Getting a little excited, are we?” Zoro remarks with a bit of amusement as both he and Luffy feel his length swell a bit against Zoro's hip.

It sounds good. It sounds really good, and Luffy can’t recall a time where he’d been this aroused by a mere idea, but… “Is that all?”

Zoro appears genuinely bewildered by the question for a moment, before his lips crack into a grin and he starts laughing, Luffy frowning in confusion.

“What? What is it?”

Zoro reaches up and strokes his cheek with his fingers. “As greedy as always, huh?” Before Luffy can reply, Zoro’s hands are suddenly on his shoulders and with a firm push Luffy finds himself on his back, Zoro leaning over him, a smoldering look in his eyes as he leans down to Luffy’s ear. “Would you rather fuck me instead?”

“I—“ Luffy feels his face turning bright red. He hasn’t the faintest idea about how a man is supposed to fuck another man—they don’t have the same things as women down there, so how…?

“Don’t tell me you don’t know?” Zoro doesn’t actually sound or seem surprised as he looks at him again, just teasing, and a little exasperated. “It means you put your…” There is his embarrassment again. “Your… it means you put your dick up my ass, alright?”

Luffy immediate reaction is a grimace. “But that’s where shit comes out of!”

Zoro sighs heavily, practically collapsing on top of him. “There goes my boner.”

“Why would I want to put my dick in there? It sounds really gross, Zoro!”

Zoro rears up again to glare at him. “Look, it’s-it can feel _really_ good, alright? That’s why people do it!”

“…You’re really just a pervert, aren’t you?”

“Oi, you were the one begging me to do something a moment ago!”

“Yeah, but I’m not sticking my dick in your shit!” Luffy scowles back up at him. “What’s the matter with you, sheesh?”

“Fine!” Zoro seems to give up completely. “ _You_ be the bottom!”

“What-what does that mean?”

“It means I’m going to stick _my_ dick in _your_ shit,” Zoro says wryly, but of course the jest escapes Luffy completely, and he arches his eyebrows sharply.

“Do you have a shit-fetish, or something?”

The situation is barely salvageable now, and Luffy really has no idea what the appeal is with sticking your dick into shit, but Zoro looks like he’s on the verge of screaming so he reaches up, palms on Zoro’s cheeks, mushing them together with his unintentionally strong grip as he looks up at his puzzled swordsman very seriously.

“Alright,” Luffy says. “I won’t judge you. If it makes you happy, you can stick your dick in my shit.”

Zoro’s left eye twitches as he slaps Luffy’s hands away. “How the hell am I supposed to get it up with you talking like that?”

As frustrated as Zoron looks, and as strange as this is, there’s something very comforting and nostalgic about their casual back-and-forth, like they always used to do before they came to this stupid castle and everything got messed up. Luffy doesn’t know if they’ll be able to keep on being carefree like this in the future, but he wants to cherish it while it lasts.

“I don’t know—just pull at it until it gets hard,” Luffy suggests innocently.

“You’re awfully relaxed for someone who’s about to have sex for the first time,” Zoro responds in lieu of following Luffy’s suggestion, and the nonchalant atmosphere changes again as Luffy feels the nerves starting to build, looking away from Zoro’s eyes that appear a sharp shade of gray reflected in the faint light of the candle, almost piercing.

“It’s because I’m with you,” Luffy says softly, glancing quickly at Zoro’s expression and finding it back to that serious look of his again, which does nothing for his anxiety. He focuses his eyes away from Zoro, fixing them on a dark green bottle of wine lying on the floor nearby. “You make me feel relaxed. I trust you.”

He feels a breath brush over his cheek a moment later, a chaste kiss pressed on his skin. “Then leave everything to me, and calm down. I can almost hear your heart pounding.”

Luffy closes his eyes as he feels Zoro’s hands deftly undo the buttons of his shirt, lips moving down to spoil his jawline with kisses, and the Prince’s fingers carefully explore his servant’s torso, trailing from his toned chest down to hard abs, little bits of scars from battles scattered everywhere, and he traces every single one he can find.

Usually he wouldn’t have let inexperience stop him from taking the lead, since he's used to doing that, but this is something he's doing mostly for Zoro—even if his valet seems convinced that it'll feel good for him as well. For this once, he’s fine with letting Zoro call the shots, as he seems to know exactly what he’s doing as he unbuckles Luffy’s belt, undoing the button on his pants and dragging them down, stopping only briefly to yank off Luffy's boots as well.

Starting to feel a bit excited now, Luffy raises his hips to help out, the trousers removed and thrown aside together with the shoes. When Zoro doesn’t move back up to kiss him again as Luffy expects him to, he almost sits up to look at what he’s doing when he feels something warm and wet pressing through the thin fabric of his undergarments, onto his dick that had grown limp but twitches and quickly starts stiffening again with the shockingly pleasuring sensation.

“Wh-what are you…” Luffy can barely get the words past his lips, feeling Zoro’s mouthing against his cock through the underwear that’s growing moist with his licks, fingers rubbing up and down the base. The heat feels so good Luffy forgets all his words, eyes slipping shut and legs writhing underneath the valet, spreading a bit allow him more access. Yes, he definitely wants more of _this_.

Zoro doesn’t spend much more time teasing either—saliva soaking Luffy’s underwear onto his cock, he pulls it out of the confines of the fabric, fingers wrapping around the shaft and starting to stroke it up and down, eliciting a deep groan from Luffy who pushes his hips up in need.

“You want more?” The hot breath on the head of his erection has Luffy inhaling sharply, hand blindly reaching down to tangle in Zoro’s hair.

“Y-yeah, more,” Luffy hisses, lips parting in a soundless moan when he feels the tip of Zoro’s tongue trail over the slit of his cock and swirl around it almost teasingly, Luffy's mind wiped blank. “ _Much_ more.”

Zoro hums, holding the sound of a smirk in his tone, before Luffy feels his lips wrap around his length and suck him in, tongue pressing on the underside of his cock and Luffy only has enough breath to whimper as he stills completely for a moment, the wet, hot feeling of Zoro’s mouth pure bliss—god, if only he’d known about this before.

Slowly Zoro takes him in as far as he can go, hollowing his cheeks and making Luffy squirm on the floor underneath him, both hands clinging to his hair. “Z-Zoro… god, _your mouth_ —“ Luffy moans mindlessly, hips jerking up. Zoro doesn’t back away, instead taking him even _deeper_ , and Luffy’s eyes nearly roll into the back of his head, back arching sharply as Zoro sucks all the pre-cum that’s leaking from Luffy’s cock while he deep-throats him.

Zoro is so gone with the pleasure that he doesn’t even notice that Zoro has spread his legs as wide; even if he had noticed, he wouldn’t have cared, because holy _god_ his _mouth_. Zoro keeps sucking a little while longer, Luffy’s hips erratically jumping up and thrusting into his throat at times, nearly making him gag though Zoro perseveres admirably, until Luffy’s writhing is getting a bit much and he’s on the edge of cumming, so he pulls away.

Luffy’s eyes slip open as he pants, sweat glistening off his skin already as he gazes up blankly at the ceiling and wonders why that amazing sensation just now has stopped. It’s not until he sees Zoro standing up over him and walking off that he regains some of his senses.

“H-hey, where are you…?”

Zoro grabs something off the table—a bottle with something in it. “Guess we’ll have to make do with this.” he mutters as Luffy sits up, starting to feel a bit frustrated and impatient, Zoro glancing down at the scowling Prince. “What are you still doing down there?”

“Weren’t you going to… to have sex with me?” Luffy questions, not sure what Zoro is doing with that glass bottle, and the valet looks a bit puzzled.

“Wouldn’t you rather we do it on the bed?”

“I don’t care where we do it, I want to do it _now_ ,” Luffy whines impatiently. Zoro said it would feel really good, didn’t he? If it feels anything close to the pleasure he felt with having his servant suck on him, then he _really_ wants to get this going already. “Just fuck me on the floor, it doesn’t matter, but I want it to…“

“You really have a foul mouth.” The look in Zoro’s eyes has changed and Luffy stops talking as Zoro interrupts him while at the same time staring at him as if he’s _starving_ for him and can’t wait to devour him whole. The nervous excitement all but makes Luffy tense as Zoro approaches with slow steps, and he swallows thickly at seeing the large bulge in the man’s trousers, feeling his mouth starting to water with the sudden urge to return the favor and suck on Zoro’s cock instead, wondering what it would taste like.

Zoro places himself between Luffy’s legs on his knees, and Luffy hurriedly reaches over to undo the belt and button on his pants, yanking it down together with his underwear, exhaling with a feverish heat at seeing the man’s thick length dripping with pre-cum. Curiously and eagerly he curls his fingers around it, a noise somewhere between a groan and a hum slipping out of his throat as he feels the weight of it. _This_ is going to… to be inside of him? Would that even fit?

“Relax.”

He looks up at Zoro, who leans down and kisses him, Luffy relishing the feel of his lips as he experimentally strokes Zoro’s shaft, fingers moving up and down. The deep, heavy groan that escapes Zoro makes his heart skip, feeling even a bit triumphant at being able to pleasure him as well.

Soon enough Zoro pushes him back down again however, sitting between his spread legs, Luffy having to let go of his cock and instead closing his eyes nervously, feeling large hands rub up and down his thighs for a bit as if trying to soothe him. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” Luffy breathes, trying not to let himself get too tense as he hears a cap being pulled off a bottle, and for a few seconds in which his pulse pounds in his throat he feels nothing, until Zoro’s fingers are back around his length and starting to pump it. The pleasure helps distract him for a bit, Luffy sighing contentedly, starting to get comfortable again.

Then, something slick and cold pressing against his entrance.

He makes a startled noise, eyes snapping open, though he doesn’t entirely sit up, rearing up just enough to look at what Zoro’s doing.

The man himself looks focused, his finger brushing against Luffy’s hole again and now pressing _into_ it—Luffy inhales sharply at the strange feeling, Zoro’s finger moving slow inside of him, further and further in, combined with the satisfying strokes of the man’s hand on his cock.

“You doing alright?” Zoro looks up at him with some concern, and Luffy isn’t sure what to say when the guy has his finger up his ass.

“I-I don’t know,” Luffy mutters slightly out of breath, blinking as he sits up a bit more so he can see Zoro’s hand moving, voice caught in a moan as the other hand on Luffy’s length twists a bit and the sharp jolts of pleasure distract him.

“Just hold on a second,” Zoro murmurs, seeming oddly concentrated as his finger moves out and the strangeness of the sensation is hard to shake off, even with the man jerking his cock, Luffy feeling a bit conflicted. Zoro’s finger pushes back in, and seems to move in a certain way that’s getting more uncomfortable by the minute.

“A-are you—“ Luffy is about to question if this is supposed to feel this odd, when Zoro curls his finger slightly and touches on something that has Luffy's entire body tensing in a sudden jolt of pleasure. Zoro doesn’t even allow him to try and figure out what is going on, finger moving out and in again to brush up against that spot once more, and Luffy gasps, “ _Oh."_

“There we go,” Zoro sounds very self-satisfied as a second finger presses inside Luffy and slips inside of him, even as the tight muscles clamp around it, the tips of both digits hitting that spot again and Luffy can’t do anything but collapse back onto the floor with a deep moan, flustered at how good this suddenly feels and unable to do anything but react to the sensation. Zoro has stopped jerking him off but he barely even notices that under the weight of this new feeling, hips twitching and pushing down onto Zoro’s fingers in need of more of it.

“Easy,” Zoro murmurs, his free hand now on Luffy’s hip and holding him still even as the Prince whines in protest. “You’re still too tight,”

“D-don’t _care_ ,” Luffy groans, never having imagined that getting fucked by someone’s fingers would feel so good. He also never would’ve imagined that he’d feel this burning need to be filled, but the more Zoro uses his fingers and the more he stretches Luffy to make him adjust, the more Luffy wants it—if his hand alone can do this to him, how amazing would Zoro’s cock feel?

Even as Zoro adds a third finger, that only pleases for a little while, Luffy’s nails digging into the wooden floorboards as he squirms against the iron grip on his hip.

“You’re so impatient,” Zoro attempts to scold him, but it comes out breathless, and one glance at the look in his eyes tells Luffy the man is barely restraining himself as well.

“So are you,” Luffy breathes with a half-suppressed groan, throwing his head back down against the floor as Zoro gives his cock a few strokes for good measure. “Come _on_ , just-just do it already!“

“Ask me nicely,” Zoro replies softly as he pulls his fingers out and doesn’t put them back in again, Luffy gritting his teeth in sheer frustration—though, when he told Zoro to fuck him on the floor earlier, the man seemed oddly aroused by it. Would that work again?

Pushing himself up slightly, Luffy stares up at Zoro with half-lidded eyes, sweat rolling down the side of his face, breaths heavy. Zoro himself looks like he's on the verge of jumping him, gaze filled with hunger.

“Fuck me,” Luffy mutters, delighting in the twitch of Zoro’s brows as he’s desperately trying to hang onto his composure. “ _Please_?” Luffy adds, legs invitingly spreading a little bit wider, and watches Zoro’s Adam’s apple bob heavily as he swallows, eyes briefly fixated on Luffy’s exposed ass and cock before trailing up his body to his face, and the resistance cracks the moment their eyes meet.

Zoro curses underneath his breath as he leans over Luffy, who beams at him as his arms wrap around the man’s neck—a moment later, the tip of his hard length presses against Luffy’s entrance, who tenses briefly, if only in excitement.

“Just breathe,” Zoro whispers against his skin, and Luffy takes a deep breath as he feels Zoro’s cock push in and there’s achebut there’s also relief, because he’s been burning to have Zoro inside of him after discovering how good it can actually feel. He has a very high tolerance for pain and this isn’t nearly enough to throw him off; he’s far too focused on wanting Zoro to fuck him until he can’t breathe to be bothered by it.

Zoro is careful but he doesn’t stop even for a moment, his cock pressing through the tight muscles and filling him from the base, Luffy moaning in utter satisfaction at the sensation of the throbbing length inside of him.

“Fuck’s sake.” Zoro pushes up a bit, his arms shaking slightly, expression caught in between bliss and concern as he stares down at Luffy. “You alright?” he breathes, and Luffy nods his head fervently, biting down hard on his lip, not having expected to _love_ this, to love having Zoro inside of him, having him gaze down at him with so much affection.

Zoro leans down and places a brief kiss on his lips before he starts slowly pulling out, the feeling scorching inside of Luffy whose mouth is cracked open in a stuttering moan that turns into a heavy gasp when Zoro pushes back in and is cut off when he kisses the Prince again. One hand gently combs through Luffy’s hair, Luffy's arms wrapped around Zoro’s neck firmly, the two of them chest to chest, lost in their shared pleasure.

Luffy’s breath hitches for a moment as Zoro’s hips start moving in a steady pace; he’s going slow, but he’s going as deep as he can go, and it’s driving Luffy insane—if he could have it fast and hard, this would be over in a minute, but Zoro wants to drag it out, wants to reduce him to a complete mess before it’s over.

“Y-you’re too _slow_ ,” Luffy whimpers against Zoro’s lips. The sensation of the cock slowly sliding in and out of him, pushing against that spot softly is like torture.

“Harder?” Zoro replies, smirking slightly as he slams his hips and Luffy’s voice breaks mid-cry, arching up so far off the ground he’s pushing against Zoro, who moves his mouth from his lips to his neck, nipping at him as if scolding him, Luffy’s legs wrapping up firmly around his hips as the slow but harsh thrusts continue and he can barely _breathe_.

“Z-Zoro.” Luffy’s voice is muffled against his shoulder, Zoro not even faltering at the groan, offering no reprieve. Luffy can’t even think straight anymore, the Zoro’s name the only thing he can even focus on, like a sweet melody repeated over and over inside his mind as Zoro fucks him—makes _love_ to him, slamming his cock into him in a way that makes Luffy a helpless wreck underneath him and yet holding him and kissing him so gently that the contrasting sensations are making the Luffy’s head spin.

More importantly than all of that, however, is the most prominent feeling Luffy has that's starting to nearly drown out everything else.

“ _I love you_ ,” he barely chokes out, right on the edge of losing it completely, feeling Zoro’s hips falter briefly in the rhythm as the man pulls away from his neck and looks down at him with nothing but fondness, sighing in content and caressing Luffy’s cheek as he repeats it, because he _needs_ Zoro to know how overwhelming this feeling is, pouring out of him, completely unstoppable. “I love you, I love you, I l-love you, so much—“

Zoro doesn’t say anything until the very end, smothering Luffy’s stammers with more of his kisses, not relenting even when Luffy trembles and moans and cries out as he cums, whimpering when Zoro continues to thrust into him, the sweet mewling noises pushing him over the edge as well.

Luffy bites down hard on his lip when he feels Zoro’s cum fill him up, some of it leaking out when the swordsman pulls out a moment later, collapsing on top of him breathlessly.

Luffy feels utterly drained and exhausted, but utterly content at the same time, both master and servant trying to recover, Zoro eventually pushing off Luffy with a grunt and lying down next to him on the floor, both of them gazing up at the dark ceiling. A minute passes and Luffy grunts when he feels his back starting to hurt, the hard-wooden planks underneath him not helping; maybe doing this on the floor really wasn't the best idea.

Still, they stay like that for a while and words are deemed entirely unnecessary—until Luffy shifts his legs into a more comfortable position and notices something.

“I’m all sticky, now,” he mumbles a bit disgruntled, Zoro laughing beside him, an arm wrapping around him a moment later.

“I’ll help you clean up,” Zoro murmurs while brushing a hand through Luffy’s hair, who rolls onto his side and curls up against Zoro, neither of them caring one bit that they’re on the cold, hard floor, messy and sweaty. They just want to enjoy this a little while longer, together.

Whatever happens in the future, at least they still have the present.


	3. The Duke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy carefully sits up on the desk, peering over to Law who chuckles at some incoherent mumbling on Zoro’s part and kisses him softly, the Prince almost amazed with the scene—had you told him this would be happening a week ago he wouldn’t have believed it for the world, yet here they are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen. this isn’t usually how i write law AT ALL. i typically don’t even like it when he’s written this way because it’s so far from canon, but today, for the first and last time, i’m breaking my own rule.
> 
> also this chapter is GIGANTIC, so you might want to get some snacks or something. i put all my blood, sweat and tears into this. but yeah, this is the last part, so it's the end, basically!

His tea grows cold and midnight strikes, but the Prince is still nowhere to be found.

Law is not surprised when, after he sends a servant to look for him— _discreetly_ , of course—that it turns out Prince Luffy is currently cooped up in Roronoa Zoro’s quarters and has been there for over twenty minutes now. They’re fortunate that the guard stationed there is loyal to Law only, or rumours would’ve gone flying and the Prince’s noble “sacrifice” would’ve been for nothing.

When it becomes clear from his servant’s report that Luffy won’t be leaving his valet’s room anytime soon, Law decides to call it a night and retreat to his chambers for a good night’s rest. He’s neither particularly disappointed nor irritated that his fiancé would commit adultery; they don’t have an actual relationship beyond that of acquaintances, if you can call Law fucking Luffy’s servant an acquaintanceship at all.

He doesn’t regret the act, as strange as that might sound; in the end, the situation was resolved tactfully and the result isn’t nearly as bad as it could’ve been. The sex itself was the best he’s had in a _long_ time, even if it was interrupted before they could finish up. Besides which, Law is admittedly curious about the Prince, which is more than he can say for most of the official suitors he was introduced to in the past few years.

Of course, Luffy isn’t exactly the type Law is usually attracted to—he enjoys men with stature, prideful men, _strong_ men, delights especially in reducing them to mindless pleasure until their dignity is all but broken and the only thing they care about is Law fucking them even harder and the only thing they can choke out is Law’s name like a prayer on their lips. It makes for a magnificent sight.

Roronoa, in that respect, had been _perfect_ ; his tear-streaked face with its flushed cheeks is still burned into Law’s mind, just like the twitch of his lips and the wrinkle between his brows and the way he arched his back, making his muscle ripple with the smooth motion.

Retiring to bed while reminiscing about this probably isn’t the greatest idea as Law quickly finds his length starting to swell with a rush of blood and heat. Perhaps it’s because they never managed to finish their little affair, but usually, after one little tryst Law tends to lose interest in whomever he got tangled in the sheets with.

Not so with Roronoa. In fact, if Law is entirely honest with himself, the incident has only left him wanting _more_ of this man, not less.

This newfound desire of his, of course, would be very difficult to achieve considering that Roronoa seems absolutely smitten with his Prince, and now has discovered that his affections are returned in full. Law has to admit the thought is a little bit aggravating—he doesn’t enjoy it when his toys are taken away from him before he’s done playing with them.

Falling asleep with this in mind is difficult, but Law manages eventually after he diverts his thoughts away from the subject, and is entirely unsurprised the following sunrise when he finds his bedsheets stained with cum and sweat after a sequence of _very_ pleasing dreams, though he is a bit disappointed he can’t remember all of it more clearly.

His morning passes without much incident, and he has breakfast as well as lunch delivered to his quarters instead of joining the King and the rest of the guests, as he’s certain he’ll only be greeted by hushed whispers and disdainful looks from pompous noblemen. Law instead busies himself with some reading material, and waits.

Eventually, at an hour past noon, his patience is finally rewarded when a knock on his door signals the arrival of a visitor, it being none other than Prince Luffy himself.

After a servant announces the young man’s presence and Law grants him entrance, the Prince steps inside his room with a slight frown. He is dressed formally, shoulders stiff in his coat, and appears entirely reluctant as his eyes flit about the chamber with distinct scorn—it’s obvious that their forced courtship has fallen in bad taste with the Prince, who probably would’ve much rather run off with his valet.

At Luffy’s arrival Law places his book aside and stands up from his armchair that’s located near the windows, where he’d just been enjoying the radiant warmth of the last bits of sunlight gradually starting to fade.

“Prince Luffy,” Law greets him politely, though he doesn’t bow. That formality can be forgotten now that they’re engaged.

“My lord,” Luffy replies, decidedly aloof in contrast. While the rank of Prince is usually above that of a Duke, in this case, since Law is actually next in line for a throne and Luffy is not, the roles have been reversed. Law can’t say he’s displeased with that; he can’t imagine actually having to submit to this _child_ in the first place.  

“No need to be so formal—please, have a seat.” Law gestures to the divan near the fireplace, and after a slightly glowering look being shot Law's way, Prince Luffy eventually brings himself to drag his feet over to the comfortable seating, placing himself at the far left of it when he notices Law favoring the right side.

Clearly, Luffy does not like him. Law can’t say he blames him, considering all that has occurred, and he has to admit it’s refreshing to have found people who don’t either cower in fear of him or kiss the very ground he walks on. Yes, both Luffy and Zoro have been _very_ refreshing so far.

The Prince clears his throat, glancing over to Law from the corner of his eyes. “Sorry for not showing up yesterday. I, uh, I was—”

“Distracted?” Law finishes for him as he leans back into the soft cushions of the couch, crossing one leg over the other. “I understand you and Roronoa were _preoccupied_ with… well, each other.”

Luffy’s jaw goes slack and he looks mortified, but before the spluttering can begin, Law raises his palm and continues, albeit with a somewhat snide tone to this voice. “Please don’t misunderstand; I’d be somewhat of a hypocrite if I reprimanded you now. Let’s just call it even, in this case.”

“Even?” Luffy repeats, eyebrows arching briefly before lowering down into a deep scowl. “It’s your fault we’re in this mess to begin with! If you hadn’t-hadn’t _seduced_ Zoro—“

Law has to scoff at this, a wry smile playing on his lips as he responds. “You’re giving me far too much credit, my Prince.” Luffy’s mouth twitches as he glares at the address, which only widens Law’s smile further. “It takes two people to tango, or so they say. In any case, I think it best we leave this incident behind us and move forward. As much as our relatives are certain to rush the wedding, we’re still going to have to get used to each other’s company. We should try to get along, at least.”

Luffy folds his arms across his chest and turns his head away from his fiancé, which wipes the smile right off Law’s face again and Law sighs a bit irritably instead. He really can’t see himself putting up with this kind of childish behavior for much longer—as much as Luffy wants to point fingers, it seems he’s forgetting one very crucial fact.

Law scoots over, closer to where Luffy is sitting who flinches when Law puts a hand on his shoulder, and reluctantly looks up at the heir with a withering look of pure loathing. Law is unimpressed.

“I understand that this is difficult for you—you’ve finally found your one true love but cruel fate is tearing you apart again, woe is you, but you ought to remember you’re not the only one who’s lost his freedom.” At this, Luffy looks away, down to his knees, a guilty look briefly flashing over his face as Law carries on coolly. “I’ve allowed you to drag me into this mess at the cost of my own liberty, though truth be told this was bound to happen eventually. You might not owe me your compassion, but at the very least, you owe me your _civility_ if nothing else.”

“I don’t owe you anything!” Clearly that was the wrong thing to say as the anger and the blaze returns to Luffy’s eyes, the Prince pulling his shoulder out of Law’s grip and moving to stand up from the divan, Law just quick enough to catch his wrist and yank him back down.

Luffy grits his teeth, probably trying to hold back countless of inappropriate words, but unbeknownst to him, his fierce resistance and downright shocking lack of propriety only piques more of the Duke’s curiosity, attracted as Law is towards the blunt and the honest. It’s a trait he doesn’t possess himself—he’s used to twisting his words like a noose around a neck, so this bracingly frank boy is nothing short of an oasis in the desert.

Just like Zoro. Oh, the way he’d _snarled_ at Law, his voice cracking and barely holding back a moan as Law had slammed his hips up into him, and yet still so defiant; Law had been planning on utterly ravaging him that night. Taking him on the bed as many times as he needed to shatter that resolve, to make him _beg_.

It seems that, if nothing else, Luffy will be the ideal replacement, though definitely different. He’s still a bit boyish where Zoro is hardened and tough. He’ll taste sweeter, bend easier, which has its own upside—but it’s not the same as the joy Law finds in breaking steel and reshaping it as he sees fit.

“Let go,” Luffy snaps at him, eyes narrowed and burning into Law’s, who is only becoming more and more entranced by this fiery little Prince, shoving him back against the armrest of the divan and leaning in closer as Luffy’s eyes widen in bewilderment. “What’re you—“

Law’s hand grabs his face in an iron-tight grip that must no doubt be uncomfortable for Luffy from the way he squirms, the Duke’s fingertips pressing harshly in his cheeks. Law observes him for a moment, and finds that he genuinely wants to tear into the young man’s skin if only to crush the utter insolence he’s displayed so far—to teach him a lesson, in other words.

“Your valet has spoiled you,” Law remarks coldly as Luffy grips at his wrist and tries to push his hand off, and he’s tempted, oh so tempted to let his free hand wander, but unwanted advances are hardly his style. It’ll be so much more fun to see the conflicted look on that scowling face when Luffy inevitably realizes that he _wants_ Law to break him. They all do, eventually. “You might have gotten away with showing such disrespect to a servant, but I am your _better_ , little Prince—you would do well to watch your tone. I won’t be as forgiving as Roronoa.”

“Y-you don’t know anything about Zoro,” Luffy hisses, but Law doesn’t relent.

“Don’t I?” Law muses, softening his grip just a little bit and moving his fingers down to Luffy’s chin instead, gripping it firmly but not hard enough to hurt. “On the contrary, I think I know a side of him you’ve never seen, not even last night.”

Luffy stiffens briefly, and Law spots the trembling fist before it lunges straight for his face—the Duke is faster, letting the Prince’s chin go and both hands wrapping firmly around Luffy’s wrists. Luffy curses, teeth bared as if considering to bite him, to rip his teeth into Law’s neck and kill him right then and there, and Law shudders at the look; the more Luffy challenges him, the more rewarding it’ll be to make him submit.

“Have you ever felt him shiver at your touch?” Law speaks softly even as Luffy continues to struggle against him, trying to wrench his wrists free, jaw clenched and fists still balled. “Have you ever seen the curve of his spine bend for you and felt his thighs wrapping around your hips?” Luffy’s resistance is ebbing away—he still looks furious, but a distinctly red blush is starting to creep up his neck to his face, and Law licks his lips in anticipation as he leans in even further until his lips are brushing over the Prince’s earlobe and he hears Luffy’s breath catch. “Have you ever heard him moan like a _whore_ for you?”

There’s a flash of fist and a sting—Law blinks almost in a daze as he suddenly finds himself lying with his back on the divan, warm blood starting to well up above his eyebrow and drip down his skin, Luffy’s heavy breaths the only thing audible for a moment in the quiet room.

He hadn’t expected that. Sitting up, he looks at Luffy, whose face is still flushed, brows still furrowed in a scowl, but now he looks a little bit regretful, rubbing over the knuckles of his right hand as Law reaches over for a napkin on the small stand next to the divan.

“Wait.” Before he can press it to his eyebrow, however, Luffy plucks it out of his hand, and with some reluctance but also remorse, does it for him, avoiding any and all eye-contact. “Sorry.”

Well, this is certainly a development, though Law is not entirely sure how to take it. He did let himself get a little carried away, so he couldn’t entirely fault Luffy for lashing out, but it seems the Prince is not _entirely_ as juvenile as he thought, if still a bit too impulsive. “I should not have said that.”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t have,” Luffy acknowledges stiffly, saying nothing more as the napkin soaks up most of the blood, which isn’t much. “I’ll go ask for something cold, for the wound. Stay here.”

“Where else would I go?” Law wonders blithely as Luffy stands up and gives him an irritated look before marching off, seeming eager to put some distance between them from how quickly he walks towards the door.

At least it seems Luffy doesn’t only feel pure hatred towards him—the physical attraction is definitely present, but the question is if Law will be successful in bringing that to the forefront of their relationship.

This first meeting ends quickly after the Prince manages to procure a small bag of ice for the wound that’s starting to swell on Law’s face, Luffy apologizing once more but rather awkwardly all the same and Law brushing it off—later telling whomever asks about it that it was a simple accident.

All in all, it could’ve gone better.

* * *

There’s four more days until the week is over and Luffy will be officially joining him at his castle in the countryside to prepare for the wedding that’s been planned to take place in exactly one month. Considering this arrangement was born out of a scandal, it’s only natural that Doflamingo would want to rush it and get it over with as soon as possible, which is exactly what Law wants as well—which is why the following three days are absolute _torment_.

On the first day, Law opts to join Luffy in his quarters with a slightly swollen eyebrow for breakfast. The Prince’s valet is, fortunately, nowhere to be seen; he’s having his breakfast with the rest of the servants, Luffy informs Law brusquely, clearly disinclined to approach the subject of Roronoa, to the Duke’s disappointment.

They say nothing as servants help them to their seats on either ends of the long, ebony wooden table, providing them with drinks and making sure they have everything they need before retreating quietly and leaving them by themselves.

The uneasy silence that stretches on right after the door clicks shut is mostly one-sided; Law actually has a bit of fun watching Luffy fidget, though he’s starting to grow weary of the silence, but feels that having Luffy take the initiative is paramount in bringing them closer together and so he says nothing.

After a horrible five minutes that feels more like five hours, his patience is rewarded.

“How’s your injury?” the Prince inquires eventually.

While Luffy does his best to avoid direct eye-contact, Law has no qualms about openly staring at him for however long or whenever he pleases, which is starting to tick Luffy off, if the constant shifting around and unnecessarily harsh stabs of his fork are any indication.

“Not as bad as it looks, I assure you.”

“I really am sorry for that, you know,” Luffy mumbles, staring down at his food and stabbing at his vegetables before peeking up at the Duke. “Does it really hurt?”

“The pain will fade eventually,” Law answers him, and their little bit of small talk comes to a quick end as Luffy only hums but doesn’t reply otherwise. The meal continues in silence.

It is frustrating, to say the least, but they’ve now both finished their breakfast too quickly for him to think of something they could actually talk about that might lead to _something_ —he’ll just have to be patient for a while longer.

Once the meal is over, Law politely excuses himself and takes his leave, deciding not to return for dinner if the tension is going to be _this_ painful. He doesn’t see his fiancé again after that, even if his thoughts are filled with him (and a certain valet, not that the Duke would admit to having developed an infatuation with a _toy_ out loud).

The second day starts off much the same as the first—Luffy greets him, a little bit more politely than before, and they sit down at the breakfast table. Law glances over at the Prince who is stubbornly staring down at his plate and refuses to start a conversation.

“Is your valet dining with the other servants again?” the Duke dares to ask now, fairly certain that if left up to Luffy they’ll make no progress. He’ll have to poke and prod a little, at the very least.

“No,” Luffy answers tersely. “Zoro is—“

Two knocks on the door, then a click.

_Speak of the devil._

The valet enters the room, and to his credit, he falters only briefly in his step when seeing Law, surprise flashing over his features before they’re smoothed out in a perfect mask of indifference, even with Law’s eyes now glued onto him; the object of at least _half_ the Duke’s desire (which is split between Roronoa and the Prince).

“I apologize for the intrusion, my lord,” the valet says to Law with a bow, who arches his eyebrows slightly—suppressing a wince from moving his wounded skin a moment later. The Duke is also not entirely oblivious to the way Luffy is watching the two of them interact with narrowed eyes. His knee-jerk possessiveness couldn’t be written any more plainly on his face.

“No need to be so uptight,” Law drawls as he ignores the Prince’s stares, focusing solely on Roronoa who’s keeping a respectful distance from him, not letting anything slip past his stoic façade. “I think we know each other well enough to—“

The sound of class cracking makes him pause, and it’s followed by a soft curse, Roronoa’s attention instantly pulled away from the Duke and aimed at the Prince instead. Luffy’s fingers drip with blood, a broken glass of wine lying on the table in front of him—he apparently clutched it so hard that it cracked.

While Law is impressed with the feat of strength, watching the valet immediately rush to his Prince’s side and gently take his hand to dab off the blood with a handkerchief irks him more than he anticipated. In a way, he still considers his business with Roronoa to be unfinished, which means Law still feels he has some claim on him, and witnessing Roronoa practically ignore the Duke and focus solely on another bothers him more than he can stand.

“I’m fine,” Luffy mumbles, but Roronoa ignores him, tending to the small cuts with worry creating the slightest furrow between his brow, and he is _gentle_ —it’s odd to see him like this for Law, who has only ever seen him be rough and demanding in bed.

Perhaps the Duke is not the only one who knows a side of Roronoa no one else does.

Not to mention that Luffy is strangely subdued, now. Or rather, he’s calm, at ease with his valet with him, and it’s the first time Law sees him without some sort of fiery emotion painted all over his face, whether it be rage or desperation or anguish. He looks _peaceful_ , and Law is utterly bemused as to how different these two people appear simply by being in each other’s company.

His appetite disappears entirely as he watches the lovers in their own little bubble, and after a few more agonizing seconds, Law stands up abruptly, briefly drawing the two pairs of eyes from the lovers on him.

“Leaving so soon, my lord?” Roronoa asks in mild surprise, still holding onto Luffy’s wounded hand, and for a long moment Law can’t keep track of who he envies more.

“I merely figured that I should let you two star-crossed lovers have as much time to yourselves, considering these next few days are your last together,” the Duke speaks almost coldly, and the atmosphere shifts in an instant, the look in Roronoa’s eyes darkening to one of anger in a way that makes Law’s heart race, while Luffy simply appears stunned, as if he had not even considered the possibility.

The Duke doesn’t wait around for a response, and instead bows mockingly. “Good day.” And he leaves.

After that little disaster, Law has little hope of being able to resolve the situation any time soon, until the third day—because on that day, well, he receives a rather tempting offer.

* * *

“Why should I agree?”

Luffy blinks and looks confused, not having anticipated that question. Roronoa is standing right next to the chair his Prince is seated on, which is across from Law’s own. They’re inside the Duke’s quarters right after dinner—Law didn’t expect the sudden visit, though he did suspect the two of them wouldn’t possibly part from each other without first exhausting every option they had.

So they had come to him, seeing as how upon the marriage, Luffy will be living with him and as such Law gets to have a say in which servants he’s allowed to bring with him. It’s a last minute plea, Luffy actually having been polite—though passionate—as he requested Law’s permission to take his valet with him to the castle.

As if it would’ve been that easy.

“What do you mean, _why_?” Luffy repeats incredulously. “It’s… we… the two of us—“

“Indeed—the two of you,” Law interrupts with a slight frown. “Why should I agree to let my fiancé bring along his _pet_ to my castle? So you can cheat on me right underneath my very nose?” The Prince cringes at that and he and his servant at least have the decency to look slightly guilty while the Duke continues. “I’ve already forgiven you once; I called it even, as you’ll recall. I won’t forgive you twice, little Prince.”

“There has to be _something_ you want in return!” Luffy blurts out in sheer frustration, Roronoa’s hand squeezing his shoulder for a moment and the Prince glancing up at his valet, noticing the stern look and sighing before reclining back into his seat and glaring passively at Law.

The Duke smiles faintly. “There are many things I want at the moment, though whether you can provide me with them is a different question.”

Roronoa’s hand clamps down on the Prince’s shoulder—painfully, as Luffy hisses and frowns up at his servant, whose face has drained of all colour. It seems Roronoa still remembers that little line, which is something Law had told him as well on the night that this whole ordeal began.

“No,” the valet answers brusquely before Luffy can even ask what’s wrong, Roronoa attempting to stare Law down who meets his gaze head-on with an amused one of his own, delighting in seeing that posture chip off even just a little bit. “Absolutely not.”

“What? Ow—what is it?” the Prince demands curiously as he pries Roronoa’s fingers off his shoulder, glancing from him to Law. “What did you mean, just now?”

“It wouldn’t be entirely unbecoming, seeing as how we’re engaged,” Law responds cryptically, though his eyes quickly drift back up to Roronoa who looks to be quietly seething where he stands, posture absolutely rigid. “What I need, my dear Prince, is one night where you give yourself to me and me _alone_.”

Luffy’s eyes widen almost comically as he appears speechless for a long moment, and he briefly looks almost revolted by the idea, before his eyes shift over to his silently fuming valet and it turns into one of consideration. Roronoa notices, and doesn’t like it one bit.

“You can’t be actually thinking about doing this?” the servant says disbelievingly, turning fully towards Luffy now.

“I… well, I mean, we _are_ engaged, so it’s not as if it would be improper to… to…” the Prince trails off uncomfortably, cheeks taking on a tinge of pink as he avoids Roronoa’s piercing gaze.

“He’s just toyingwith you, Luffy,” the valet replies, shooting Law a nasty look as he does, which Law merely greets with a smirk. “It’s not worth it, you can’t trust him.”

“That’s rather rich, coming from someone who slept with a complete stranger in your master’s chambers,” Law points out wryly and Roronoa looks like he’s seriously considering crossing the room and wringing the Duke’s neck. Law ignores him and looks down at Luffy, who still seems conflicted, but definitely thoughtful. Good. “One night is all I want, then you’ll be free to bring your guard dog with you and play with him as much as you like—as long as I don’t have to see it.”

The Prince perks up. “Really? I can… Zoro and I can just… you know?”

Law inclines his head slightly. “Of course; you have my word.”

“Luffy—“ Roronoa attempts again, seeming decidedly against the idea, but the Prince is already leaning towards an answer and he’s the stubborn type, Law can tell.

“It’s just _one time_ , Zoro,” the Prince reasons, taking his valet’s hand in his bandaged one and giving it a comforting squeeze. Roronoa doesn’t appear very reassured. “You trust me, right? Just this once, and… and that’ll be it.”

“You can watch, if you’d like,” Law suggests, which has the Prince’s face turning the shade of a bright red rose and Roronoa actually staring at him in shock—but not with any particularly negative emotion, the Duke notes curiously. Well, it was worth a shot, and if nothing else, perhaps he’ll have better luck in the future. After all, his _ideal_ situation would be to have both of these toys all for himself, after all. “I’ll take that as a no, then. Prince Luffy?”

The Prince, who’s rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly and not looking at anyone in the room, finally tears his gaze away from his shoes and glances up at Roronoa—who, though still flustered, appears troubled all the same—and then finally looks to Law, seeming to have made up his mind.

Taking a deep breath, still holding his valet’s hand, he stares directly in Law’s eyes with that _defiance_ in them that’s only making the Duke want him more, and says, “Alright. I’ll do it.” 

Law merely smiles.

* * *

It’s almost endearing, the way Luffy tries so hard to keep quiet. The gag—which is nothing more than a bit of cloth shoved into his mouth—would ordinarily help with that, but his little whimpers still spill from his throat as Law strokes his cock with a tight grip, the pre-cum leaking all over his fingers.

Luffy is lying on his side with his wrists bound with a belt, Law behind him with his arms around him, lips against his ear and hand twisting around the youth’s dick just so. Luffy groans at once at the movement and presses his hips back, ass-cheeks pushing against Law’s throbbing length, the Duke closing his eyes briefly to enjoy the feeling.

“I won’t be gentle,” Law hisses in Luffy’s ear as he grinds his hips against Luffy’s ass and hums in satisfaction at the heat and jolts of pleasure created with the friction, rutting against the Prince who writhes and squirms against him—caught between Law’s hand stroking him from the front, and his cock pushing between his cheeks from behind. “If you want me to stop, you know what to do, don’t you?”

Luffy nods shakily, breathing heavily through his nose but unable to do much of anything else, reduced to squirming and whimpering, arching his back when Law starts stroking him faster while the Duke’s cock slides up and its head presses and rubs over Luffy’s entrance, the tight hole quivering at the touch.

“ _Mmh_ ,” Luffy’s fingers are clawing at the sheets and his eyes are squeezed shut, an expression of tortured bliss on his face—Law can see as much, thanks to the mirror.

It’s quite large, standing on the other side of the room, facing them. Luffy has been avoiding looking at it this entire time, now, but Law has been staring at their reflection continuously, captivated by it. It’s one of his favourite things to do; watching Luffy twitch and shudder and become reduced to his willing toy is one of the most erotic things Law has seen in a long while—though Roronoa moaning in heated want for his cock might be a close contender.

“You’re close, aren’t you?” Law mutters against Luffy’s neck before nipping and sucking at it, pushing his member against Luffy’s entrance until its nearly slipping inside, the muscles starting to stretch around the head, the Duke having been at least so considerate as to prepare Luffy with oil properly beforehand, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to handle it dry what with having lost his virginity only a few days ago.

Law wishes he could’ve seen _that_ happen, but the ass clenching around the tip of his cock washes that regretful thought away in an instant—Luffy is so hot and tight that it takes all his self-control not to shove his length the rest of the way in, biting down sharply on Luffy’s shoulder to ground himself and breaking through the skin, drawing blood from the little cut that he soothes with his tongue right after, the metallic taste filing his mouth.

The Prince only flinches briefly, but seems too overtaken with everything else going on that he barely reacts to it otherwise. He’s certainly much too preoccupied with trying to move his hips down onto Law’s cock, making a needy, strangled noise in the back of his throat when Law halts him by gripping his hips, which still have bruises on it from his time with Roronoa.

“Look in the mirror,” Law breathes against Luffy’s neck, starting to pump his length even faster, eliciting even louder moans from the writhing boy who has to be close to the edge by now, reluctantly looking up and glaring at their reflection, cheeks flushed pink and sweat rolling down his face.

“You look so lovely,” the Duke says, tongue trailing over the bite-mark he made earlier, and Luffy’s glare intensifies, though he doesn’t seem to want to resist in the least, leaning his head back against Law’s shoulder with a strangled noise when the man pushes his cock further inside, the Duke on his part hissing, feeling almost lightheaded with the sensation.

His free hand reaches down to hook underneath Luffy’s knee, legs having been sprawled out over the sheets until Law hoists one up so he’ll be able to fuck him as deep as he can later on—not to mention that it gives him an amazing view in the mirror. They both can see Law’s cock now slowly sliding further into him, Luffy making a wrecked sobbing noise though no tears fall down, _yet_.

Law doesn’t stop until he’s buried to the hilt, pausing there to take a moment to breathe, exhaling against Luffy’s ear. So far, this little encounter is surpassing _all_ of his expectations. He knew Luffy would bend for him in the end, but to watch him do it so beautifully is more than he could’ve hoped for.

Luffy grows more restless, and, curiously, Law focuses on pumping his length with even, fast strokes now, wondering how close his companion is. Deciding to test it out, Law moves his hips a little bit, his cock shifting a little inside of the Prince, brushing over a little bundle of nerves as he does so—it’s enough to send Luffy over the edge.

Luffy’s body suddenly jerks and he cries out around his gag, cum spilling over his stomach and the sheets as she shudders in Law’s arms. His muscles squeeze around Law’s cock so tightly the Duke is almost seeing stars, gasping at the mixture of pain and pure ecstasy.

After a few seconds Luffy grows limp and eases up in his arms, Law’s length still throbbing inside of him, making him unable to relax _entirely._ Law pulls his hand away from Luffy’s now limp member and laps up the bits of sticky fluid on his fingers, staring into the mirror and seeing Luffy watching him with half-lidded eyes.

“We’re not _nearly_ close to being done yet, little Prince,” Law purrs as he reaches over and pulls the cloth out of Luffy’s mouth, who breathes in heavily, still out of breath and seeming almost drained after just cumming once. Law wonders how many more times he’ll manage before either deciding to stop or passing out.

Luffy glowers at him through the mirrors. “Go to hell, bastard.”

Not broken yet.

Law merely smirks and slides his cock out slowly, Luffy letting out a choked moan and clutching the sheets—eyes glued to their reflection, _watching_ the thick length inside of him pull out—before the Duke slams back into him so hard Luffy actually cries out for a second time, and it’s such a delightful sound that Law _has_ to hear more of it, so he repeats it, again and again and again until the Prince is sobbing and moaning and whimpering brokenly as he watches Law fuck him, his cock quickly growing hard again which _has_ to be painful.

The Duke himself is straining to keep from cumming too early, Luffy still so tight around him, as if trying to squeeze it out of him, but he’s had more than his fair share of lovers and so he keeps going as much as it hurts, fucking Luffy sideways like that until Luffy ejaculates for a second time and collapses on the sheets, a completely mess, and yet when he glances up at Law’s face he still has that fire in his eyes, still enough strength to glare.

So Law pulls out and grabs his hips, yanking him back on the bed until he’s on all fours, and the Duke fucks him from behind as well, making sure to leave some new bruises on his skin to add to Roronoa’s.

“F-fuck, I c- _can’t,_ I can’t, oh _fuck_ ,” Luffy sobs with hiccupping breaths, each thrusts making his body spasm and drawing some sort of delectable noise out of him, and Law fucks him until his arms and legs are shaking and on the verge of giving out from under him, until he’s starting to beg, finally. “ _Please_ , god, pl-please—”

“Please _what_?” Law hisses, not pausing in his rhythm one bit, even as his muscles are screaming in ache and he’s drenched in sweat, watching Luffy in the mirror, his face a beautiful combination of pain and pleasure, tears glinting off his skin in the faint candlelight.

“I… sh-shit,” Luffy is barely breathing, entire body shaking with Law’s thrusts. “Cum in m-me, _please_ ,” he whimpers, and Law loses his grip completely, the orgasm rocking him from head to toe as he lets out a stuttering breath and spills his seed inside of Luffy, riding it out with a few more wild, erratic thrusts before completely exhausting himself.

He pauses and lingers inside of Luffy as his cock slowly grows limp, his mind wiped blank for those precious few seconds, but then it starts getting a bit painful. He manages to pull out, Luffy making a small noise and squirming slightly as he does so, and the Duke collapses on the bed next to the Prince, who hits the sheets almost at the same exact moment.

They say nothing for the longest while.

Law because he is too busy thinking about how this one of his best lays he’s ever had.

Luffy because he’s fallen asleep almost instantly.

When the Duke finally turns his head to look at him and notices this, he lets out a deep sigh and reaches over to the edge of the bed to grab the blanket they’d kicked off earlier, though he takes a moment to look down at Luffy’s exhausted form, especially taking note of the cum between the Prince’s thighs.

It’s almost enough to get Law hard again, his cock twitching at the sight which aches more than anything, so he suppresses the feeling and lies down next to Luffy instead, wrapping an arm around him before pulling the thin sheet over their naked bodies.

At this point, in the solitary afterglow, one fact is painfully obvious.

There is no way this is going to be a one-time-thing.

* * *

A strong hand clutches the front of his shirt and his back slams into the wall, sending pangs of ache through muscles and joints still sore from last night. Dark eyes glare into his yellow ones, and it only intensifies when Law can’t help but smirk lightly in the face of Roronoa’s ire.

“What the fuck did you do to him?”

The low, rumbling tone dripping with murderous intent almost makes him shudder, heartbeat starting to speed up in anticipation. “I let you inside my chambers and this is how you greet me? I’m disappointed.”

“Don’t fuck with me, asshole!” Roronoa snarls viciously, the hand letting go of Law’s shirt and wrapping around his throat instead, fingers pressing into his skin and nearly cutting off his windpipe, Law’s smirk only widening at the show of strength. “He hasn’t been back to his quarters since he left for your room—where is he?! It’s almost noon and we’re supposed to leave in two hours!”

Of course the valet’s real concern isn’t being late for their departure—Law can see it written plainly on his face. It’s killing Roronoa, to have Luffy spend a night in someone else’s bed for _his_ sake. He probably assumes Law pulled every trick in his book to coerce and blackmail Luffy into it, and most likely wouldn’t believe him if Law told him Luffy was the one to initiate the whole thing with a furious, almost forceful kiss.

As such, the Duke decides that playing the villain is all he can do in this situation. “I hardly see why I should tell you what _my fiancé_ is doing in his own private time.”

Roronoa’s eyes widen in fury and the fist he has by his side is trembling. “You piece of shit, I ought to—“

“I admit, the night was quite taxing on him,” Law admits only slightly out of breath, unaffected by Roronoa’s unfinished threat. “I do wish you could’ve been there. It might’ve helped ease him into it. Perhaps next time?”

“ _Shut up_!” The valet’s hand squeezes and cuts off his air entirely for a few seconds, Law’s hands now instinctively grasping at Roronoa’s wrist and making his grip slacken slightly. “You already had your night with him!”

“Oh? And who’s going to forbid me for having a healthy physical relationship with my betrothed? _You_?” Law scoffs, yanking Zoro’s hand off his throat but not letting go of his wrist, instead pulling it with a sudden tug that takes the valet off-balance long enough for Law to reverse their positions, shoving Roronoa against the wall instead and pinning both hands against the wall.

Roronoa looks positively homicidal now, and Law can only _barely_ hold him back, his only advantage being his considerable height that allows him to tower over the swordsman.

“You said it would be one night!” Roronoa hisses, gritting his teeth when Law merely raises his eyebrows. “I’m not letting you touch him _ever again_.”

“Are you volunteering to take his place?”

“What?” The sudden suggestion throws Roronoa off so much he briefly stops resisting against Law’s hold on his wrists, allowing the Duke to close the small distance between them and lean down, his lips to Roronoa’s ear and his leg pressing between the valet’s thighs.

“I enjoyed you very much,” Law murmurs, smiling in satisfaction as he feels the body against his freeze up. “We never did finish _our_ night together, did we, Roronoa? Don’t tell me it hadn’t crossed your mind even once.”

“Like hell I’d be fantasizing about you, sick bastard,” Roronoa breathes against Law’s neck, but as much as the venom drips off his words, Law can tell from the bulge starting to grow against his leg that the servant isn’t being entirely truthful.

“Really? Because I have been thinking about you quite a lot,” Law responds softly, head dipping down to the curve of Roronoa’s neck, teeth grazing over his skin and smiling when feeling the valet squirm just a little. “Or rather, about the way my cock fit so nicely inside your ass.”

Roronoa’s breath catches, hips twitching and pressing slightly against Law’s leg, and the Duke can feel how hard he is. “You’re more crass than I expected,” Roronoa bites out, before Law kisses and sucks at the bit of skin on the crook of the valet’s neck, drawing a sharp gasp from the man.

“You and the Prince might make for a wonderful couple, but you have needs he could never fulfil,” Law says with almost clinical indifference, merely stating facts. “You’ve always been the protector, the one looking after him—but the truth is, you love being dominated just as much as you love to dominate.”

“Fuck you,” Roronoa growls, even as his breath has quickened and he’s undoubtedly aroused, as it shows in the husky undertone of his voice and the way he presses against the Duke, creating more friction between them while Law’s own semi-hard erection presses against Roronoa’s hipbone. “The hell do you know about me?”

“I know you loved riding my dick—it’s a little late to pretend otherwise, Roronoa.“

The valet takes a deep breath and then wrenches his wrists out from underneath Law’s grip, who concludes he’s been teasing the servant enough and lets himself be shoved off the breathless man, who has an unmistakable flush to his cheeks even as he glares at the Duke.

“Zoro!”

It’s almost fascinating to watch how quickly the anger seeps out of the valet’s posture, facial features instantly softening to one of attention and concern as he turns around to face his Prince, who has just emerged from the washing room, all dressed up and appearing wide-awake and refreshed.

It took Law almost an hour to get Luffy out of bed, the little Prince whining and complaining plenty about the ache in his back, stretching on the sheets like a cat before realizing that the sticky fluids between his legs had dried up and he reeked of sweat and sex. The Duke had already taken a bath by then and managed to drag Luffy to the washing room, the water of the tub having been replaced by a servant so Luffy could clean up properly.

“I don’t need your help,” the Prince grumbled at him as Law helped him to the tub, though the Duke had ignored him entirely and helped him clean up nonetheless. It had been entirely embarrassing for the Prince to be washed and treated as if he were a child, but mostly just amusing for Law, though he kept any smug remarks to himself.

After that Luffy had decided to enjoy the bath a bit longer and Law had left him to his own devices, retiring to read a novel in the main room when three loud knocks startled him out of his morning haze and the valet had practically stormed into his room after he’d given permission to enter.

And now the three of them find themselves here.

“Luffy,” Roronoa starts, staking a step towards his Prince, but then hesitating, eyes carefully scrutinizing his appearance. “Are you… are you doing alright?”

“Uh, yeah,” The Prince glances briefly at Law and then quickly looks away again with a scowl, a blush tinting his cheeks.

“You’re free to have your breakfast here, if you’d like,” Law cuts in casually as he straightens out his clothes and walks towards the door leading out into the hallway of the west wing, gesturing offhandedly at the table filled with food that had been prepared half an hour ago by servants. He hadn’t touched it, having had his own meal several hours earlier. “I’ve got some business to take care of.” Mainly consisting of making sure the carriages were ready and visiting the King one last time to bid his goodbye.

“Alright, we’ll see you later, then,” Luffy mutters as Law opens the door and walks out, the Duke receiving nothing but scornful silence from the valet.

As soon as he closes it behind him, he can hear Roronoa’s voice cut through the silence, and lingers at the door. Eavesdropping usually isn’t his style, but the Prince had been behaving strangely polite ever since they woke up this morning—dare he say, almost friendly.

“ _You sure you’re okay?”_ Footsteps, followed by a deep sigh from Luffy.

_“I told you, I’m fine!”_

_“He wasn’t too rough, was he?”_ The sound of rustling clothes as well as an indignant yelp and half-hearted protests. Roronoa’s probably checking for marks, which Law left plenty of on his Prince’s skin.

_“Zoro—“_

A tense pause. “ _I’m going to kill that bastard!”_

 _“No, Zoro, listen—just wait for a second, will you?!”_ Law leans his head back against the wood, straining to hear as the volume of the voices dims down slightly. _“He-he didn’t do anything I wasn’t okay with.”_

  _“Luffy, if you’re trying to cover for him out of shame—“_

 _“I’m not!”_ The Prince starts sounding angry. _“He was… he was pretty considerate.”_

 _“Considerate?_ That _asshole?”_

Law can’t help but feel insulted at the incredulous tone of the valet. The Duke took precautions before his night with Luffy truly started—setting up rules for their little tryst, like what was off-limits and what was okay, or what the Prince had to do if it became too much and he wanted to stop at any point in time. Law might enjoy complete and utter domination, but only with his lover’s full consent. How is he supposed to enjoy it if his partner isn’t, after all?

Not to mention that had Luffy truly despised him he would’ve never stuck around the morning after—he probably never would’ve even agreed to the deal so easily to begin with. Law realizes full well the proposition was rather underhanded of him, however, but while he might not be a complete scumbag, he isn’t above using less honourable means to get what he wants either.

 _“I don’t know,”_ Law hears Luffy say eventually, sounding unsure. _“I don’t think he’s a bad guy. I… liked it, you know.”_

 _“You… you_ what _?!”_

Curiosity satisfied, and pleased at the new development, Law doesn’t stick around to listen to Roronoa’s no doubt scathing response, and quietly slips away into the corridor, wondering if his most favoured outcome might not be so impossible to achieve after all.

* * *

The first few days in Law’s castle—which is of course smaller than Doflamingo’s, but still quite the monolithic building, surrounded by water and walls that tower over everything—are uncomfortable.

Not from Law’s end, of course. The Duke is entirely at ease, as this is his home and he is master here, answering to no one but himself. Rather, the newly settled _couple_ are the ones making the relationship more strained than it needs to be. The Prince, for example, keeps his distance from him after Law shows him his room, which is right across from the Duke’s own while Zoro’s is located in the servant’s wing.

This doesn’t sit well with the valet, but he can hardly protest tradition, though he does his best to be by Luffy’s side at every second of the day. It’s obvious he’s somehow hoping he can protect the Prince from the Duke’s wandering eyes, which Law considers to be perfect, as the valet soon discovers—because now he has not one, but _two_ toys to tease.

Luffy still does his utmost to avoid Law, in spite of his words before their departure to the Duke’s castle. He doesn’t glare as often anymore, but during meal-times, where they are expected to dine together, conversation is little and stilted, and Luffy almost seems at a loss on how to approach his fiancé, mainly due to his guard dog that seems to stick by him as much as possible and makes it difficult for him to interact with Law without feeling guilty for some inexplicable reason.

Clearly, if Law wants to have any semblance of an actual bond with his betrothed, he has to take care of Roronoa’s overly protective quirks. It’ll be difficult to snare even one of them, let alone two at the same time, but if he manages to balance it right, the pay-off will be _grand_ , he’s sure.

And so the Duke sets a few devious little schemes into motion. After all, instead of burning with envy whenever seeing the two of them together in their happy little space, why not incite a little jealousy of his own?

* * *

After knocking twice the door to Luffy’s bedroom opens up at the crack of dawn, the Prince standing in the hallway with ruffled hair, half-lidded eyes still glazed over with sleep, wearing a shirt that’s too big for him and the skin of his neck bruised with a hickey—it’s obvious what he’s been doing, and only on the third day after he’s arrived, no less.

Law doesn’t let this faze him however, and bows slightly, taking his fiancé’s hand in his own, glancing up to peer at Luffy’s bemused expression before kissing the back of it gently. “Good morning, my Prince.”

It has the desired effect; his cheeks flush slightly, but he appears bedazzled more than anything else. “I-uh, yeah, good… good morning,” he stammers, blinking as if trying to wake himself up from a dream.

“I know you’re still settling in and must be tired, but it occurred to me that I’ve never gotten a chance to show you my private gardens.”

“Oh,” The Prince looks over his shoulder towards where his bed is, and though it’s just out of view for Law, it’s obvious that Roronoa is the one occupying it at the moment. “Well, I—“

“Just the two of us, this time.”

Luffy frowns slightly. “Sorry?”

“Roronoa is still asleep, isn’t he?” Law replies smoothly, and from the way Luffy fidgets with the hem of his sleeve—or rather, the valet’s sleeve—it appears his guess is a correct one. “We’ll be back soon enough. Don’t worry, I won’t bite,” He pauses, then leans in closer with a slight smirk. “Unless you’d like me to.”

At this, the subtle colour to the Prince’s cheeks intensifies. “Give me a minute!” he blurts out, practically slamming the door shut in Law’s face, who merely chuckles at the almost panicked behaviour.

True to his word, however, Luffy is dressed within a minute, probably wanting to get this over with as soon as possible, and though he still looks sleepy from his ruffled state, his eyes are wide-awake thanks to Law’s advances, and as he closes his chamber door shut behind him, Law extends his arm to him which is taken with some hesitation.

They walk through the east wing corridor, servants bustling about in preparation for the wedding that’s supposed to take place in exactly a month, though Law himself has had very little to arrange for it on that front seeing as how he has trusted valets of his own to take care of such matters.

“Do you have any preference as far as floral arrangements go?” Law inquires casually, Luffy’s grip on his arm light, though he sticks close to the Duke’s side.

“Not really,” The Duke can feel him shrug without looking over. “Any flower is fine.”

“What about the food?”

“Meat,” Luffy responds instantly. “A lot of meat. Beef, and pork, and chicken, and grilled meat and cooked meat and—“

Law feels actually a bit taken aback by the firm response, though he shouldn’t have. He’s seen the amount of food Luffy could stuff down his throat during a single course, after all, though he hadn’t known how much Luffy favored meat specifically over everything else.

“I see,” he interrupts the Prince’s enthusiastic rambling. “Meat it is, then.”

“Great!” Glancing over Law actually completely forgets his next question concerning the wedding when noticing the pure look of almost childlike happiness on Luffy’s face—it’s a look he’s seen plenty of times before, but usually it was only ever directed towards Roronoa.

To see it now directed towards _him_ makes his heart flutter oddly in his chest, and it’s almost shocking how much insight Law has gained on why Roronoa has fallen so hard for this young man.

“I’m sure you’ve got your own list of guests in mind as well, do you not?” Law asks eventually, tearing his gaze away from the Prince as they near the stairs and start heading down, Luffy’s grip on his arm now having tightened slightly.

“Yeah,” Luffy smiles brightly. “I’ve got plenty of friends I’d like to see attend, like Shanks, Coby, Usopp, Sanji—don’t tell Zoro though, they don’t get along—and Chopper, and Robin, and Franky and Brook and…” He keeps rattling off names, and Law is honestly a little stunned to see how many people this Prince knows, some of them (like Shanks and Robin) not even _remotely_ noble-born but known as pirates and fugitives.

Then again, with Luffy’s outgoing and sunny disposition, it’s not surprising that he’s attracted this many people to him. There’s something about him, a peculiar sort of charisma, that coaxes you into entering his orbit, caught in the trail like a small star longing for the brightness of the sun.

Luffy tells him about them, as well. Like the temperamental cook that constantly gets into fights with Roronoa, and the mysterious history tutor who’s a wanted criminal in at least five different countries, the child prodigy doctor and the tall, skinny bard who always entertains the Prince with his songs. Law listens so attentively that he forgets to tell Luffy anything about the garden they stroll through, captivated by his passion and enthusiasm and the fondness in his voice as Luffy tells his entranced fiancé all about the people closest to him.

“I look forward to meeting them,” The Duke says, leading Luffy to a stone bench surrounded by rose bushes underneath a large tree, the shade cooling with the glaring summer sun shining down on them. Luffy looks genuinely pleased to hear that, letting go of Law’s arm as they sit down but not scooting away to put any distance between them.

“I’m sure they’ll like you too,” the Prince says, looking around curiously at the roses surrounding them, ranging mostly from red to pink but managing to find one of the few white ones near him, reaching over to touch the petals with his fingertips. “You know, I thought you were a complete bastard at first, but you’re not a bad guy.”

Law raises his eyebrows slightly. “A very thoughtful compliment, if I’ve ever heard one,” he comments wryly, reaching with his arm behind Luffy and plucking off the rose he’s been practically pawing at. The thorn pricks his finger but he ignores it, handing it to Luffy who looks at it in surprise, as if he didn’t realize it could be plucked in the first place.

“For me?” He takes it gingerly, sniffing at it and smiling slightly. “It smells nice—oh, you’re bleeding.”

“It’s just a small cut,” Law dismisses but Luffy has already set the rose down on his lap and takes Law’s hand in his own, looking at the tiny drop of blood that rolls off Law’s fingertip and drips down on the rose petals, the splatter of red staining the white. “Ah, it’s tainted. What a waste.”

“You think so?” Luffy looks down at the rose, picking it up again and looking at it contemplatively. “I like it better now, actually. It looks different.”

“I suppose it is the only one of its kind, now,” Law agrees, reaching over with his clean hand and brushing his fingers through Luffy’s hair, who looks up at him with a flustered look, as if only just realizing how close they’ve been sitting. “Much like you,” the Duke murmurs softly, adoring the shy smile that flourishes on Luffy’s face—peculiar how it’s just as delightful as his blushing and his moans and his glares. Law has yet to discover something about this boy that he _doesn’t_ like.

And if Roronoa has been watching them for the past five minutes now from a short distance away, sending a morose glare in their direction, then all the better.

* * *

“What do you want?”

The valet clearly does not appreciate the Duke’s presence in his chambers, and admittedly, Law _should_ be escorting Luffy back to his room after dinner, but Luffyinsisted on another course and was eating himself to death at the moment, so the master of the castle decided this was a perfect opportunity to follow up with the jealous swordsman.

“Just to talk,” Law replies smoothly, closing the door shut behind him as he approaches the armchair Roronoa is seated in with a bottle of booze in his hand. “Mind if I take a sip?”

The man snorts. “I doubt your _refined_ palette would agree with this peasant crap,” he scoffs as he nonetheless hands the bottle over. Law takes a whiff of it, concludes it’ll most likely taste worse than said peasant crap, and gulps down three large sips, the liquor dripping down from the corners of his mouth to his neck as the bitterness burns in his throat and the aftertaste is even worse than bile, but nothing he hasn’t tasted before.

When he hands the bottle back he can’t suppress a pleased little smirk at Roronoa’s genuinely surprised expression, wiping the cheap ale off his lips with the back of his hand. “You know too little of me to make such assumptions, don’t you think?”

“Tch,” Roronoa finishes off the rest of the bottle, throwing it down to the ground and reaching for a full one down next to his chair as Law sits at another chair opposite to him. “Fine, so you can swallow down a few mouthfuls—but can you hold your liquor as well, oh noble one?”

“Want to try me, Roronoa?”

The feral grin he receives in return makes his blood roar in his veins and he licks his lips in anticipation.

“Bring it, Trafalgar.”

Five bottles later and it’s hard to see straight, shards of broken glass all over the place, heat pulsing through his skin with the buzz even as his feather-lined coat and vest are already on the floor, his companion opening the last bottle they have—a classy red wine—with a pop, hunched over it in his seat and yet admirably clearheaded, to an extent.

“You know, you’re a real bastard,” Zoro grunts before taking a swig and then tossing the bottle over to Law, who barely catches it and manages to prevent it from spilling, frowning at the careless valet. “I saw you, with Luffy, in the gardens. I saw what you were trynna do.” His speech is not slurred exactly, but he’s definitely not as sober as he could’ve been.

Law chuckles at this, finding it funny for a reason he can’t place—the alcohol has gone to his head and Zoro’s staring at him intently across from him, watching him down the wine that mixes with the liquor he’s previously drunk which has spilled all the way down to his exposed chest, the buttons of his shirt undone.

“What was I trying to do then?” the Duke drawls, watching Zoro’s eyes trail over the moisture of the alcohol gleaming off Law’s skin.

“Tricking Luffy,” the valet grumbles eloquently, gaze lingering on the hem of Law’s trousers, swallowing thickly when the Duke leans back into the chair with a taunting look in half-lidded eyes and spreads his legs just a little bit wider. “Trynna trick me.”

“Trick you how?” Law replies, shaking the bottle nonchalantly to check how much they’ve left and taking another sip for himself.

Zoro doesn’t answer to that. “Toss it, asshole.”

The Duke smirks, and drinks from it again, swallowing down as much as he can until Zoro finally stands up with a dark look and slowly walks over to his chair, looming over Law with a glare that’s torn between frustration and obvious desire, both his hands leaning on the plush armrests.

They stare at each other for a long moment, a lingering smirk on Law’s liquor-stained lips and a deep furrow between Zoro’s thin brows, an intoxicated moment in which neither one is sure who’s going to break first, but both knowing that _something_ will definitely break.

“You want it, don’t you?” Law says softly, holding up the bottle to him.

Zoro’s eyes flit down to it momentarily, then back up to Law’s face and he smacks the bottle aside—it drops to the floorboards with a loud clang, its contents spilling over the wood but completely forgotten either way, because Zoro dives down to lick the alcohol off Law’s lips and Law grabs at his hips, greedily pulling him onto his lap.

“ _Shit_ ,” the swordsman breathes as he grinds his hips against Law’s in wanton need and digs his fingers into the man’s scalp, who bites at his neck and kisses at his jawline, arms wound tight around the man’s strong back.

“You’ve been wanting it for a while now, haven’t you?” Law murmurs against his skin as fingers rub and squeeze over the thick bulge growing in the valet’s pants, eliciting a deep groan that rumbles through his bones with Zoro’s face nuzzled into the crook of his neck. “Tell me what you need.”

Zoro sighs deeply at the hand continuing to attend to the erection swelled up underneath tight clothes, the friction between them hot and heavy. “Kinda…” His hips jerk up needily into Law’s fingers, the daze of the alcohol loosening up his tongue as he starts rutting up against him, Law obliging all too willingly. “K-kinda… _shit_ … need you to fuck me.”

The words make Law’s dick twitch in want with his heart pounding through his veins, warmth seeming to radiate from his very core, and the thought of burying his cock in that wonderfully tight ass of Zoro’s has him moaning softly while the swordsman pants against his neck like a starved animal that can barely be contained.

 _But_ , and this will be difficult in his already drunk state, he can’t let this go too far. The real pay-off comes with patience and diligence.

So he removes his hand from Zoro’s crotch and gently pushes him back, the valet making a protesting noise in the back of his throat and glaring irritably at the interruption.

“Who do you envy more?” Law asks as composedly as he can manage, and Zoro blinks at him with utter cluelessness.

“What?”

“Who do you envy more,” the Duke repeats patiently as he reaches up and caresses the bewildered swordsman’s cheek. “Me, for getting to tie up and fuck your little Prince into the mattress, _or_ ,” he adds quickly when he sees Zoro’s eyes widening with incoming anger, “Luffy?”

The valet gazes at him in silence, speechless for a moment before scowling deeply. “Why would I be envious of Luffy?”

“Because,” And Law leans in close, breath brushing over Zoro’s lips, “He got to have my cock pound him three times in one night—so good that he _begged_ me to cum inside of him by the end of it.” Zoro’s breaths speeding up and the restless shift of his hips doesn’t escape Law’s notice as he smirks in satisfaction. “You want that too, don’t you?” he questions softly, nipping briefly at Zoro’s lower lip, the valet turning his head away from Law, eyes squeezed shut for a moment to collect himself before he glares half-heartedly at the Duke.

“You’re a real fucking degenerate,” Zoro growls, hands pressing into Law’s shoulders almost painfully tight. Law reclines against the chair comfortably, however, even as his cock is nearly achingly hard with Zoro’s own pressed against it, merely observing the flush on Zoro’s cheeks in satisfaction.

“Who were you glaring at, exactly, back in the gardens?”

“Shut the fuck up, already!”

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Law continues, fingers wrapping firmly around Zoro’s waist to prevent him from moving away for just a moment, wanting him to listen. The valet stills reluctantly, glowering at him suspiciously as he does so. “You want me, but you’re clearly in love with him, while he needs you, but he wants me as well—and I..."

"And you?"

"Well," Law smirks lightly. "I’d just like to have you both.”

“I… what? What the _hell_ are you suggesting?” Zoro sputters immediately, backing away so fast he nearly falls off Law’s lap, awkwardly stumbling back onto his feet and looking caught between disbelief and outrage.

Just as Law opens his mouth to elaborate, there is an interruption that freezes both men into place.

“Oh,” Luffy is standing in the doorway— _how long has he been standing there?!_ —with an enlightened expression on his face. “We make it a threesome!”

Law, who was thinking of entirely separate arrangements which would involve him switching between the two of them from night to night, is mildly flustered.

Zoro, who’s had no such arrangements in mind whatsoever, is utterly dumbfounded.

“Luffy, how… how much did you—“

“From when you said you wanted him to fuck you.”

The speed at which the flush on the valet’s cheeks spreads to his entire face and burns it red would’ve been a comical sight to behold any other moment, but Law is too stunned to really take in the sight, instead staring at the Prince, who (while clearly a bit embarrassed—or perhaps even aroused, from the pink on his face and tense posture) doesn’t seem the least bit put off by the fact that his fiancé and his actual significant other were messing around just now.

Not to mention that this threesome idea he suggested comes as a huge shock to Law, who ruled it out as a juvenile fantasy from the beginning, convinced that Luffy was too innocent to even think of the possibility and Zoro too possessive to ever agree to it. But, clearly he was wrong on the first count, and seeing as how it was the Prince who suggested it, perhaps Zoro might even be persuaded—

“That sounds like a fair compromise,” Law immediately agrees slyly, glancing over to Zoro who looks a bit overwhelmed by it all, quickly backing away from the Duke and looking from him to Luffy, who scratches the back of his head timidly.

“How… why the hell… explain yourself!” the intoxicated swordsman blurts out eloquently, and the Prince shrugs stiffly.

“I mean, I really love you, Zoro—“ The valet nearly chokes on his own spit at the casual confession, “—but I, uh, ever since that night with… I can’t… get him out of my head, and obviously you really want him too, right?”

“Luffy—“

“No, look, just take a bath or something and think about it!” the Prince insists stubbornly now, frowning at his valet who seems conflicted more than anything. “We can talk this over later, okay?”

Zoro glances briefly at Law with a slight frown and a look in his eyes the Duke, as rare as it is, can’t read, before sighing deeply, his shoulders slumping slightly. “Fine.” He trudges off into the corridor, no doubt to get a servant to fill up a hot bath for him—being the Prince’s _personal_ servant has its benefits—momentarily leaving the Prince and Law alone in his quarters.

Luffy peeks at him from under dark lashes and the Duke, with a smirk on his face he can’t suppress because he could’ve never anticipated this _wonderful_ turn of events, stands up from the chair, moving towards the door where Luffy stands almost rooted to the ground.

“I must say, I never expected a proposal like that from you, of all people,” he says as he halts briefly in front of Luffy, who shrugs again, this time a bit more at ease.

“I don’t see the point in lying about what I want.”

A smile plays on Law’s lips but he says nothing more, walking past Luffy and towards his own quarters.

The next few days should prove to be very interesting.

* * *

“You’re distracted,” Rosinante points out, moving his queen to take Law’s knight, the afternoon sun shining brightly into the Duke’s study, who barely catches what the Archduke has just said, glancing up at him quizzically.

“Am I?”

Rosinante smiles lightly, tapping on the edge of the wooden board. “You wouldn’t have been losing otherwise.”

“I suppose I’ve had a thing or two on my mind,” Law concedes reluctantly, knowing that once he invites the Archduke’s prying there will be no escape from revealing the whole truth, relentless as the man is.

Not that he’s particularly embarrassed to share his sexual exploits—he’s done so before, if only to punish Rosinante’s overly inquisitive nature, at least when it came to the Duke. He supposes it’s only natural, considering the man has always been somewhat of a parental figure and mentor to him, but sometimes his snooping is not appreciated.   

“About the engagement?” Rosinante poses, waiting for Law to make his move, who hasn’t even glanced down at the chessboard yet. “How is the fiancé doing?”

“I wouldn’t know; he’s been avoiding me for the past two days.”

“Oh?” Rosinante arches his eyebrows sharply. “Trouble in paradise?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“If you’re unhappy about the wedding, you know you have no one but yourself to blame,” the Archduke continues, reaching over to his glass of wine and taking a sip—Law briefly watches the alcohol slosh in his cup and wonders if Zoro will ever be able to make up his mind.

Luffy and his valet are at an impasse. The former is actually _excited_ about the idea of a threesome, adamant that if nothing else Zoro could at least try it out, but the latter is equally stubborn in his hesitation. It’s the most absurd thing to watch the swordsman struggle between obvious desire and this antiqued sense of propriety; he’s already broken whatever rule of dignity he was taught from the moment he let Law seduce him into bed and caused this entire mess to begin with. His belated floundering won't change that.

“Say, if you had an acquaintance who was stuck in a dilemma, even though the best choice is an obvious one, how would you go about convincing them?”

Rosinante reclines back into his chair at this, appearing thoughtful for a moment. “I assume your usual means of persuasion didn’t help?”

“If with _usual means_ you mean seduction, then no.”

The Archduke narrows his eyes. “I’m not going to help you talk someone into bed, Law.”

“It’s not necessarily just that,” Law disputes with a slightly offended look, now having completely forgotten about the game of chess. “This could be something more permanent.”

“Is this about the Prince, then?”

Law hesitates. “In part.”

“Then why don’t you just tell the truth?” Rosinante queries, as if he can’t understand why this is a problem for the Duke in the first place. “Honesty lasts longest, or so they say.”

It’s not a bad idea, but it’s a difficult one to grasp, especially considering he’s spent his entire life in this big, empty castle surrounded by masks. Ordinarily, honesty in any other kind of situation for a noble means vulnerability, weakness, foolish naivety only commoners could afford. Particularly when personal feelings are involved.

Law has shared his sheets with many a man and woman, but none that have intrigued him and mesmerized him as much as the hardened swordsman and his cheerful Prince. Zoro is incredibly enticing with that unyielding spirit of his, and Luffy is nothing short of captivating—separately, they're interesting enough on their own, but together they seem to _radiate_ this genuine feeling of warmth and affection that Law has seldom seen in his world filled with arranged marriages and indifferent couples, and he can’t help but be attracted by it like a moth drawn to an inviting flame.

“Law,” Rosinante speaks, having noticed the Duke drift off into thought again and peering at him curiously. “Is it possible… could you be in love?”

It’s usually a question he would’ve dismissed without so much as a second thought, but it makes him pause to consider, and by then he realizes there might even be a possibility, and that unsettles him.

“I don’t know,” he says, a deep wrinkle between his brows, appearing troubled.

How has he fallen this far without even noticing it?

* * *

He finds Zoro in the garden, on the stone bench surrounded by the rosebushes while twirling a daisy in between his fingers, expression contemplative and sunken in deep thought—so much so that he doesn’t even hear Law approach.

Spotting the white flower between the valet’s fingers almost makes him pause, remembering the rose he gifted to Luffy before it became tainted with his blood. A strangely fitting metaphor for the relationship between the two of them, he supposes.

So where does that leave Zoro, in this equation?

Perhaps he’d be the thorn that pricked his finger, Law thinks with a slight smile as he walks over to the bench and sits down without invitation—not that he needs it, seeing as how he owns it, the garden, and this very ground itself.

Zoro glances at him furtively from the corner of his eyes, but says nothing, looking back down at the daisy and starting to pluck at its petals.

“ _He loves me, he loves me not_ , _he loves me_ —” Law mocks wryly, earning him a firm glare now.

“Piss off, I don’t need your pestering right now,” Zoro grumbles back in a low tone, the white petals falling down around his feet, until he arrives at the last one, and stares at it, undecided. Law says nothing, content with merely watching him, until the swordsman speaks up again. “If all you want is sex, you can have it.”

These are the words he’s been waiting to hear, and yet, they don’t satisfy him at all. In fact, at hearing them the gaping hole in his chest only opens up wider, and the words leave him before he’s even realized that they’ve crossed his mind at all. “And what if it’s not?”

At this Zoro looks up at him, eyes widening minutely, gaze somewhere between startled and dubious. Law has to admit he wouldn’t have believed himself either, but these words ring truer than anything he’s said so far—Zoro recognizes as much as well, which is why the wary body language smoothes into something slightly more relaxed, the line of tension in his shoulders easing out.

“Aren’t you getting a little greedy there, my lord?” the swordsman responds with some derision, looking back down at the daisy with its single petal fluttering in the wind, expression inscrutable. “I thought you were the type to only want a quick fuck, no strings attached?”

“That might’ve been true before, when I didn’t have a choice,” Law replies quietly, looking down as the fallen petals are blown away by the same breeze, scattering over the stone path. “Nobility in Dressrosa differs from the kind you’ll find in your kingdom, Roronoa. They’re as likely to extend a helping hand as they are to stab you in the back with the other. In a culture like this one you can never trust pretty words or romantic confessions, but sex doesn’t lie. It’s the only thing that feels real, genuine, even if it’s part of a ploy or something fleeting. This is… the two of you are different. You don’t lie in your words nor your actions. I envy you for that.”

Rosinante had better be right, because this is a risk he’s taking with his heart, and he hates this vulnerability. If it backfires on him, the Archduke will have to be the one to take responsibility for it.

Zoro’s silence that’s now stretching on for almost half a minute is starting to make him slightly anxious, the dark grey gaze focused on the daisy in his rough fingers, before he suddenly plucks the last petal and releases it to be taken away by the wind, watching it go. Law waits as patiently as he can manage, when the valet turns his head to look at him, seeming to have decided.

“That’s a really pathetic life you’ve been leading up until now, Trafalgar,” the valet says simply, without any sardonic edge nor cruelty to his tone—Law can hardly deny what he’s saying, either. “You want to know what it’s like, don’t you? To trust someone completely?” Law feels slightly embarrassed at that, at the almost smug look on the swordsman’s features, and when he’s the first to look away, Zoro snorts. “Ha, how the mighty have fallen!”

“What’s your answer?” Law cuts in, nerves strained. Zoro merely smirks, as if this single heartfelt admission was the only thing he’d been waiting on to make up his mind.

“Sure,” he says easily. “Let’s give it a shot.”

* * *

“ _Sit_.”

Luffy pouts but does as he’s told, lowering himself down on the edge of the bed, restless in every sense of the word with an almost childlike excitement. He’s the only one fully clothed, while Law is taking off his coat and Zoro is already shirtless.

The swordsman is leaning against the side of Law’s desk in front of the windows, sunlight pouring in giving an almost golden tone to his skin and a bright green shine to his hair, eyes just a shade lighter than usual. The Duke himself has a hard time looking away from the man basking in the sun, and then he glances over at Luffy whose gaze is transfixed on the valet. He, unlike Zoro, is cloaked in the shadows of the room, eyes as dark as can be as they peer at his servant’s half-naked form and Luffy licks his lips, fingers digging into the mattress underneath him.

Law, though it pains him to take this slow, pads over towards Zoro, who’s staring out the window, head turned away from the both of them. Clearly he doesn’t like being looked at like this, barely reacting when Law’s hands trail over his chest, down hard muscle until reaching the hem of his trousers.

“Don’t be shy, now,” the Duke mutters softly, casually undoing the button but nothing more than that as his fingers trace up again, one hand lingering on the valet’s hip. “We have to put on a satisfactory show for the little Prince, don’t we?”

Zoro scowls, but doesn’t remove his eyes from the windows, until Law grabs him by his jaw and forces his head to face him. “Your first time in a threesome, Roronoa?”

“Anything wrong with that?” the servant snaps, Law humming thoughtfully before dipping his head down to Zoro’s neck and pressing kisses on his pulse-point, feather-light and gentler than he usually does. He can feel the heartbeat underneath his lips pounding rapidly as he worries the skin with his teeth and caresses it with his tongue.

The valet’s reaction is one he hasn’t seen before—he can feel Zoro slowly relax, shifting his head and exposing even more of his throat to him. One hand is holding onto Law’s shoulder while the other combs through the Duke’s hair in a way that’s strangely soothing, and for the first time, arousal isn’t the predominant sensation for Law, who has never had a lover so willing to grant him gentle affection. It’s different, but just as good; perhaps even better.

Luffy watches them quietly, rooted to the bed, his eyes briefly meeting Zoro’s before the swordsman looks away quickly, no doubt embarrassed. Law smiles slightly at that, deciding to turn up the pace.

“Keep looking at him,” he murmurs against Zoro’s neck before his lips trail further down to his collarbone, the servant reluctantly listening to his demand and looking back at his Prince, who can’t decide whether to watch Law kiss and caress or the flushed expression on Zoro’s face.

The soft atmosphere doesn’t last, broken when Law’s mouth finds Zoro’s nipple and latches on, the swordsman gasping in surprise that turns into a moan halfway, Law’s tongue swirling around the sensitive nub that hardens in his mouth, grazing his teeth over it and making Zoro flinch with a heated hiss.

Luffy is fidgeting on the edge of the bed and seems to be getting more and more impatient by the second—even Zoro notices as much. “Get on with it,” the valet growls, but Law says nothing and ignores him, keeping his own steady pace as his lips move down to Zoro’s abdomen.

He likes the way the muscles twitch slightly with each kiss, hard but pliable. The lower Law moves the tenser Zoro becomes as his hands tug the valet’s pants down to his ankles, kisses following down to Zoro’s happy trail and halting at the edge of the man’s undergarments, where he pauses and glances up.

Zoro is watching him fixedly, brows furrowed, eyes half-lidded with a dust of pink on his cheeks, a hand still tangled in Law’s hair. “Stop bein’ such a damned tease,” the servant mumbles, Law only smiling lightly in response before reaching up his hand, the tips of his fingers tracing over Zoro’s semi-hard cock through his underwear, not missing the way the valet inhales sharply at the touch.

“I’m just taking my time,” Law replies softly, continuing to rub up and down over Zoro’s shaft, the swordsman exhaling an unsteady breath as his member quickly grows into a full erection, pressing against the thin fabric of his underwear.

Lips curving in a smirk, Law leans in, teeth biting the hem of Zoro’s final piece of clothing, tugging it as Zoro himself watches with wide eyes, the undergarment pulled down until it’s low enough to slide off his thighs down his ankles the rest of the way, his thick cock now entirely exposed, Law wasting little time to grab the base of it and lick at the slit where pre-cum is starting to gather.

It tastes salty, almost sour, but the groan that Zoro gives as his eyelids flutter shut is more than worth it, Law’s tongue continuing to swirl over the dark pink head, before sucking it into his mouth while his hand works on the shaft, stroking slowly. Zoro is leaning back entirely against the desk now, hips pushing forward mindlessly—Luffy makes a noise from his spot on the bed, and almost gets up until Law pulls away from Zoro’s cock and gives him a warning look.

“Not yet,” the Duke says sternly, and Luffy frowns but stays seated, a deep blush on his cheeks as he continues to watch instead. Law turns his attention back on Zoro, who looks a bit frustrated, probably waiting for Law to suck the rest of his cock instead—unfortunately, Law has no such intent. “Turn around.”

“What?” Zoro blinks. “But—“

“Turn _around_ , Roronoa,” Law repeats sharply, and while Zoro glowers at him, he doesn’t protest, hesitantly turning his body to face the desk and leaning on the wood with his hands.

Satisfied, Law’s hands reach up and knead at the soft flesh of the valet’s ass for a moment, appreciating the softness of the skin here before spreading the thick cheeks apart.

“O-oi,” Zoro almost pulls away from his grasp, trying to glance at him from over his shoulder, sounding rather startled. “What are you—“

Law yanks his hips back until the swordsman’s back is curved slightly to accommodate. “Spread your legs and stay still,” he orders, fingers squeezing in Zoro’s hipbones for emphasis, and the swordsman does as he’s told, even if he seems rather unsure about what Law is doing down there.

That’s fine. He’ll feel it soon enough.

The Duke wets his thumb with spit and experimentally rubs it over the man’s puckered hole that twitches at the touch, Zoro barely breathing at this point, anticipating Law’s fingers—what he gets instead is a wet, hot, soft feeling pressing into him instead, the sensation so sudden that he lets a hoarse moan slip from his throat.

“ _Fuck_ … wh-what… _hnn_ …” Law won’t let him move an inch, hands having a steely hold on his hips, his tongue continuing to rub over the tight ring of muscle without giving Zoro a chance to gather himself, the swordsman leaning heavily on the desk now and almost trembling with the feeling, his entire body rigid with it.

“Relax,” Law murmurs, and Zoro can feel his hot breath down there, sucking in a lungful of air as he tries desperately to keep his composure, biting on his lip in an attempt to keep quiet.

Law’s tongue licks every bit of skin around his tight hole, the tip of it trying to push into the tense muscle and making Zoro curse with heavy breaths. His arms are starting to shake, forcing him to lean down on his elbows, exposing more of his ass to Law who _keeps_ lapping at him, even pressing an open-mouthed kiss down there and Zoro is on the verge of cracking, forehead pressing down onto the cool wood.

“God, _shit_ , you fucking _bastard_ ,” he groans breathlessly, starting to ease into the feeling, because as embarrassing as it is it’s undeniable that the sensation itself is nothing short of ecstasy.

Law doesn’t pause either, the lewd, wet noises together with Zoro’s heavy panting and cussing the only sound in the room until Law’s tongue finally breaches the servant’s tight hole and the moan that slips from Zoro’s throat is downright _obscene_. The valet shudders and something inside him seems to crack, because now he’s pushing his hips further back against Law’s tongue needily.

“Fuck,” the man breathes mindlessly, fingernails digging into the wood, sweat dripping down, his expression scrunched up into one of pure pleasure. “ _Fuck_ , fuck, holy shit, fu— _ahh_ …”

He’s loving it, loving Law’s tongue on him, pushing into him, for a moment so dazed with sheer pleasure that he nearly forgets about their voyeur—turning his head to rest his cheek on the desk, he immediately catches Luffy’s eyes. They’re dark and blown wide in arousal, and Zoro’s cock twitches in want when his gaze drops down and he sees the Prince’s hand around his own member, stroking it with tight, fast movements. God, he’s really getting off on this, watching Law practically fuck Zoro with his tongue alone, the hot, wet muscle pushing in even further at that exact moment and making Zoro’s back arch with a cry, eyes squeezing shut.

“ _Fuck me_ ,” the swordsman gasps without thinking, not even realizing he’s said the words—Luffy and Law have heard them loud and clear, however, Law immediately pulling away from the servant and Luffy having had enough, not being able to wait a single moment longer as he gets up from the bed.

Law, glancing at Luffy and knowing exactly what he’s thinking, gets up on his feet and pulls an unsteady Zoro away from the desk, the swordsman too dazed and far too aroused to even question the rearrangement of positions—instead, the moment Luffy comes within reach, Zoro grabs him by the arm and shoves him against the desk, diving in to capture his lips in a bruising kiss.

The Duke, still behind him, partly amused and partly turned on by the action, tugs his own pants down and frees the nearly painful erection he’s had to endure, pressing against Zoro’s backside as the valet’s hands are all over Luffy and Luffy’s hands are all over him. Zoro groans into Luffy’s mouth at the feeling of the large cock pushing against his ass, his entrance still slick and moist with Law’s saliva, the man probably intent in going in dry again.

His first concern, however, is clearly to get all these pesky clothes off his Prince, whose fingers are around Zoro’s cock and are making it hard for him to concentrate—damn it all, at this rate he’s going to cum before anything substantial can even happen.

“What do you think, Luffy,” Law murmurs from behind Zoro, pressing a kiss on the nape of the man’s neck which seems a particularly sensitive area from the way the swordsman sighs against Luffy’s lips. “This valet of yours is rather good at playing the whore, isn’t he?”

Luffy, in the middle of yanking his shirt over his head can barely reply, but Zoro is slightly more clearheaded and glares at Law from over his shoulder.

“Who the fuck are you calling a whore?”

Law smirks and pushes the head of his erection against Zoro’s hole, making the swordsman groan lasciviously and press his hips back as if a reflex.

“The man who’s dying to have my cock in his ass,” Law responds smoothly, voice murmuring in Zoro’s ear and making the valet shiver while clinging onto Luffy, who has finally done away with all his clothes now, having missed most of the interaction and now looking up at Zoro with wide eyes. “Hold onto him for me, would you, Luffy?” Law says, earning a confused look from the Prince.

“Why—“

Law doesn’t let him finish, and forces his cock through Zoro’s tight hole—the valet clasps his hand over his mouth to smother the broken cry that wrenches itself from his lips, his other hand gripping tightly onto Luffy’s shoulder who soothingly pets his swordsman’s hair. Law groans softly at the delightfully tight heat squeezing around his cock, pushing in until he can’t go any deeper and Zoro’s legs are shaking, Luffy worriedly kissing at his cheeks and holding onto his waist in fear he might collapse.

“Be a good boy and get on the desk,” Law hisses at the Prince, who peers at him from over Zoro’s shoulder in slight confusion.

“Why?”

Law smirks lightly, sweat dripping down his brow. “So Roronoa can fuck you into it.”  

Luffy blinks twice, wide-eyed with a bright red flush blooming on his face, Zoro quiet aside from his labored breaths, trying to relax and adjust with the throbbing erection inside of him. The Prince climbs onto the desk, timidly spreading his legs, Law pushing Zoro between them. His dick moves slightly inside of Zoro at the movement and elicits a strangled noise from the swordsman as he shoves Luffy down onto his back—harsher than he intended, Luffy yelping at being nearly slammed down.

“S-sorry,” Zoro breathes apologetically against Luffy’s neck, Luffy’s erection pressed up against his own, and he can’t help but grind against it—the motion creates a delightful friction between them while simultaneously making Law’s cock move inside of him, brushing lightly over his prostate and drawing a whimper from the valet’s lips. “ _Ahh¸_ fucking hell, fuck—“

“Oil in the drawer,” Law mutters in a tightly restrained voice from behind Zoro, one hand rubbing comforting circles into the man’s hip, trying to do his best to keep still until the swordsman is ready. Luffy flails with his arm to reach it, managing to open the drawer and blindly rummaging through it until he feels the outline of a little bottle and takes it out, then looks up at Zoro expectantly, not knowing what to do with it.

“You’re such a handful,” Zoro mutters shakily, taking the bottle from him, popping off the cap and letting the oil drip over his fingers—it’s probably because of Law’s cock pulsing inside his ass and his desire to be fucked by it already growing bigger by the second, but he’s not as gentle as he usually is with Luffy, forcing one finger in and making Luffy tense with a surprised squeak.

“Sorr—“ Law suddenly shifts, pulling out of him slowly and making Zoro tense up at once, before slamming back in again, the valet’s apology trailing off into a choked moan, forehead leaning down and pressing against Luffy’s, who’s watching him almost mesmerized.

Law is done waiting, his patience worn thin; Zoro will just have to prep Luffy this way, The Duke's hips slamming forward, his cock burning inside of Zoro who can barely keep himself together, eyes squeezed shut and teeth gritted at the pain and pleasure alike.

“ _Christ_ , ‘m n-not… d-done yet— _nnh,_ ah, _fuck_! J-just wait a s-sec, impatient s-son of a—“

The tip of Law’s cock thrusts against his prostate and for a moment Zoro loses all thought completely, mouth dropping open and gasping soundlessly, toes curling at the shock of sheer heat and pleasure wracking his body.

Law, on his end, while unable to stop himself from enjoying Zoro thoroughly, hasn’t at all forgotten about Luffy, and squeezes on Zoro’s arm to remind him. “Don’t forget about the Prince, now.”

“Sh-shut… _up_ …” Zoro groans, opening his eyes to look down at Luffy who’s stiff as a board underneath him, unable to tear his eyes away from Zoro and Law. The valet, a noise slipping from him with each one of Law’s thrusts, leans down to briefly kiss Luffy’s forehead before he starts moving his finger inside Luffy’s tight heat, Luffy squirming with a lovely moan.

Law eases up a bit on the roughness of his thrusts, allowing Zoro to breathe  as he carefully pushes his finger in and out of Luffy in a steady rhythm until he feels Luffy relax enough for him to add a second one, and his cock aches with sheer want—Law had a point, when he said Zoro liked being dominated as much as dominating. Being fucked from behind feels mind-blowingly good on its own, but the thought of having his aching member pressed into Luffy at the same time is enough to make him moan.

Luffy himself reaches up to sling his arms around Zoro’s neck and pull him closer for a kiss—he can feel Law’s thrusts shake Zoro’s entire body, and there’s something incredibly erotic about it, about the knowledge his servant is being fucked by the same cock that pounded Luffy just a week ago no less. Luffy delves his tongue into Zoro’s mouth, coaxing a groan out of him that hums against Luffy’s lips before they pull apart with a smack of lips and Luffy writhes his hips impatiently.

“C’mon, Zoro,” Luffy mutters softly, the swordsman taking that as his cue to take his fingers out—Law stilling momentarily behind him—and pushing Luffy’s legs all the way back until his knees are nearly pressing into Luffy’s chest, hands almost leaning onto the back of his thighs while shifting his hips carefully, the tip of his member brushing over Luffy’s entrance.

The Prince twitches briefly at the feeling, but feels entirely relaxed in Zoro’s care; the servant’s length slip into him with ease, though still moving slow. Luffy’s eyelids flutter shut at the filling sensation that delights him every time, and Zoro barely holds back a groan, making a strained sort of whimpering noise instead as he pauses halfway into Luffy to catch his breath, sweating all over and nearly shaking, the most taxed out of the three of them.

“Zoro?” Luffy peeks up at him with concern when he feels him halt for a moment, Zoro gulping down deep breaths and shaking his head, eyes still closed.

“G-give me a minu— _FUCK!_ “ Law chooses that exact moment to slam his hips forward, the sheer force of his weight and his cock pounding into Zoro thrusting the swordsman further into Luffy as well, the Prince gasping in surprise and Zoro crying out, completely caught off-guard and burying his face in the crook of Luffy’s neck, his scream turning into a drawn-out whimper as Law pulls his hips back and slams forward again.

“L-Law, s’ n-not fair,” Luffy breathes, arms wrapped around Zoro who can do little more but let Law have his way, too strained to move, which is perfect for the Duke, who enjoys watching him become reduced to this mess practically collapsed on top of Luffy. Law focuses on pounding him as hard as possible, making even Luffy feel it as the Prince writhes and twitches underneath Zoro, who helps along only a little, seeing as how only a little is necessary to begin with. He’s not fucking Luffy as thoroughly as he usually would’ve, but the Prince is more than enjoying the indirect feeling, nails digging into Zoro’s back as the valet moans wantonly against his neck.

Law leans down as he diligently upholds his pace, first kissing the base of Zoro’s spine before moving down further and capturing Luffy’s lips in a kiss as well, his tall height rather useful in this regard. The Duke's chest is pressed onto Zoro’s back, who is pressed on top of Luffy, the latter two feeling almost smothered by the heat with the three of them squished together like this, Law’s unrelenting thrusts not making it any easier.

Zoro is particularly close with the hot, wet kissing noises right next to his ear, Law’s cock fucking him for all he’s worth, at the same time Luffy’s tight heat squeezing around his erection—

“ _Zoro_ ,” Law’s voice murmurs against the back of his neck now, and it’s the first time he’s used the valet’s first name, the Duke's lips almost affectionate on his skin as his thrusts now soften down to a much slower rhythm that focuses solely on pleasing Zoro, who knows all it’ll take is the littlest push. “You can cum if you want to,” the Duke continues softly, and shit, Zoro had no idea the bastard could fuck like this— _make love like this—_ “I’ll finish off Luffy for you.”

The image of Law fucking Luffy into the desk flashes in his mind and it’s enough to make him cum, his orgasm hitting him hard and making his vision go black with the intensity—he stops breathing, the overwhelming pleasure inducing his body to tremble and quake with it as he cums inside of Luffy, the Prince giving him the softest moan, Zoro gasping and shuddering and muscles twitching for a long few seconds before making him relax completely, and everything goes limp, and everything goes blank.

Law’s cock pulls out gently, the swordsman barely noticing, dazed and feeling unable to move, Luffy rubbing his back and kissing at his neck lovingly, _hungrily—_ he’s still not sated, after all.

When the thought occurs to him, Zoro painstakingly forces his body to move, pulling out and lifting himself up off Luffy and nearly stumbling—Law’s arm wraps around his waist from behind and steadies him, helping him over to the bed where Zoro just lets himself fall down on his back and stares blankly at the ceiling, still enjoying the afterglow of his mind-numbing climax.

Luffy carefully sits up on the desk, peering over to Law who chuckles at some incoherent mumbling on Zoro’s part and kisses him softly, the Prince almost amazed with the scene—had you told him this would be happening a week ago he wouldn’t have believed it for the world, yet here they are.

The Duke sits on the edge of the bed next to Zoro and looks at Luffy now, the amused look fading from his face, replaced with obvious desire as he motions the Prince to come closer; they’re both still hard. Luffy hops off the desk immediately, nearly tripping as his legs feel weaker than he anticipated, and walks over to where Law is sitting, halting in front of him a bit uncertainly.

Shooting him a faint smile, the Duke scoots a bit further onto the bed before pulling Luffy on top of him, hands caressing the eager Prince’s sides who immediately presses his mouth down onto Law’s to steal a kiss and his ass down onto the man’s cock to urge him to hurry, showing his impatience in the way he grinds over it, making Law groan heatedly into his mouth.

“Oi, oi, I’m trying to sleep here,” Zoro grumbles from beside them, though the way his eyes are glued onto them contrasts his half-hearted complaint. Law pulls away briefly from Luffy’s lips to give him a derisive arch of his brows before Luffy impatiently tugs his head back by his hair and smothers him with another kiss.

“So eager,” Law rasps in between kisses, Luffy continuing to rub his ass over Law’s cock until the Duke relents with a hot sigh and guides his member to Luffy’s tight hole, pushing it in with one firm motion and, hand resting on Luffy's lower back, feeling Luffy arch it beautifully as he hums in content. Zoro’s cum is still inside Luffy, the servant having already stretched Luffy out for him, and it makes everything go a lot more smoothly.

“So _good_ ,” Luffy moans in reply, eyes fluttered shut, hips automatically starting to move up and pressing back down onto Law’s cock—the Duke so surprised by the initiative that he lets a groan of his own slip, barely having to thrust his hips with Luffy riding him so eagerly, as if he can’t get enough of Law’s dick.

“Jesus Christ,” Law curses, one hand tangling tightly in Luffy’s dark locks, overtaken by the waves of pleasure washing through his insides before glaring down at Zoro, who’s stroking himself languidly while watching them, cock hard again. “What the _fuck_ … what have you been t-teaching this kid, Roronoa?”

Zoro merely smirks smugly in response, before Luffy yanks Law’s head down and kisses him again, and Law lets himself go completely, wrapping both arms around Luffy, not tightly enough to inhibit his movements as he keeps fervently riding his cock. “ _Shit,_ you goddamn slut,” Law cusses, not being used to being dominated like this, dazzled by Luffy’s passion and feeling himself getting dragged away into his pace.

“ _Law_ ,” Luffy whimpers needily, and Law obeys immediately, starting to thrust his hips up to aid Luffy, who shakes and presses his forehead against the Duke’s shoulders, clinging to him. “I-I’m gonna cum, Law—y-you’re so good… your dick _feels so good_ —“

It hits him suddenly, like being shoved over the edge of a cliff; Law gasps, stuttering a moan, tensing up completely as his arms tighten around Luffy and press him against his chest while he cums, burying his face in Luffy’s hair and panting against his ear.

He’s faintly aware of Zoro’s deep groan, who has managed to hit his climax for a second time, though Law is too overwhelmed by his own to really take note of it. His last few thrusts are the harshest as he rides it out, which proves enough to push Luffy over the edge as well, his ass squeezing around Law’s cock so hard Law nearly whimpers, smothering the sound with a choked groan as Luffy’s cum spills in-between the two of them.

There's a long moment of rest as the two catch their breaths, Luffy still in his arms and as they try to recover from their orgasms and Law simply holds the Prince for a moment, feeling utterly content.

The first one who stirs is Zoro, the swordsman sitting up and reaching down to the floor, grabbing a hold of his shirt and wiping his sticky fluids off his own abdomen before throwing the shirt down again and lying back down on the bed to slip underneath the blankets. He glances over at Luffy and Law, the former of which is only just starting to move off of Law, the Duke’s soft member slipping out of him as Luffy slowly and carefully gets onto his knees and reaches down for Zoro’s discarded shirt as well, using it to wipe himself clean, front and back.

“Oi, that’s mine—use your own,” Zoro grumbles as Luffy offers it to Law, who takes it without second thought. The swordsman’s grouchy expression is wiped off his face as the Prince moves up and settles down next to him underneath the sheets. Zoro’s arm automatically wraps around Luffy who rests his head on his Zoro’s chest.

Law, wiping himself clean and tossing the shirt back down on the floor, glances at them, and hesitates. Zoro and Luffy look perfectly at peace, Zoro caressing Luffy’s hair while Luffy’s hand wanders over the valet’s torso, fingers tracing invisible circles on his stomach. They’re the perfect picture of a happy couple. For a moment Law isn’t sure he should join, thinking he might ruin it if he did—then Zoro gives him a questioning look and Luffy lifts his head up to stare at him as well.

“What is it?” the servant asks. 

"Get over here already!" the Prince adds.

And the Duke can’t help but smile in sheer relief, shaking his head mildly before moving to lie down next to Luffy. He crawls underneath the thin blanket and briefly leans over to press a kiss to the back of Luffy's head, into his hair, making him giggle with the feeling and shift his head off Zoro to turn and kiss Law back on his chin.

“Hey, that’s enough,” Zoro mumbles tiredly from beside them, eyes half-lidded as if he’s about to fall asleep.

“Hmm, I think Zoro’s jealous,” Luffy mock-whispers to Law, who smirks lightly.

“Poor thing.”

“Tch,” Zoro glares at the both of them. “Just go to sleep and rest up already. We need to get up early tomorrow. Preparations for the wedding ‘n all that…”

“Zoro,” Luffy asks sleepily in return. “Can the three of us get married now?”

“Don’t be stupid, idiot!” the valet blurts out, an embarrassed tone to his voice as he stubbornly closes his eyes, though his grumbling continues. “Who’s ever heard of a three-way wedding?” 

“Fine, I don't need a wedding anyway,” Luffy replies dismissively, the sigh that follows turning into a yawn halfway. He rolls onto his back, Zoro’s arm still lazily slung over him. “G’night.” And he instantly falls asleep.

Law briefly marvels over this peculiar ability to drift off so quickly, before he shifts a bit on his side to get more comfortable—he briefly feels around until he finds a strong hand resting on Luffy’s hip, and his fingers slip in-between Zoro’s, who has no reaction to it other than his lips quirking briefly into a soft smile, before he drifts off as well and soon two separate sounds of snoring fill the bedroom.

The Duke watches them sleep for a moment before closing his eyes and finally letting his exhaustion claim him as well—knowing that this moment, with the three of them, is all genuine.

It’s real, this feeling of being in love.

**END**


End file.
